Good Friday in San Miguel de Allende

this was taken while a priest was reading from the bible. Men dressed as Roman soldiers marched in front of the cross.

 My daughter, Cynthia, who is now living next door to me took theses photos yesterday when we ventured into town to absorb the color and energy of the celebrations and processions. We missed the last procession, but not the crowds. People flock to San Miguel for Holy week. The hotels and restaurants are full and the streets are overflowing with tourists.

Venders lined the streets selling religious images.

loading flowers from the municipal market.

So much to choose from...

I bought a very heavy bunch of flowers for our meditation center on Sunday

Houses were decorated with symbolic wheat grass, sour oranges and chamomile flowers

Still walking.

Mural Saturday in San Miguel

Nothing to do with the murals, but I couldn't resist taking a short of this glorious tree.

 There was a festive air in Colonia Guadalupe today. Many artists were given different walls in this neighborhood to cover with murals. What could be more Mexican than murals? This object of this project is to discourage graffiti and tagging which has become more aggressive in the last few years.

Crowds came out to see the artists at work on this beautiful warm day.

This is a regular wall, not part of the mural project, but I admire it every time I pass by

I bought mango water from this woman

Painting portraits in encaustic

beginning loose charcoal drawing on oil primed, milk paint board

Finished piece.

 I am photographing each step I make while painting a portrait in encaustic. This is for my planned book, "Painting Portraits in Encaustic" I will be including the palette, tools and fusing methods that I use. I do not want my figurative work to look like an oil painting. I love the texture and luminosity of encaustic and I want those qualities to speak in the portraits.

 I am beginning work on a new book, "How to Paint Portraits in Encaustic"

I Open My Hands and Let Go

My God Has Been Too Small

Blessed Am I Among Women

While thinking about the format, I pulled out some old figurative oil paintings that I made about 17 years ago. I feel they still hold up. They were part of a series I called "Her Journey" each piece tells a story about a woman's personal journey to self-realization and wholeness. The collaged borders continue the narrative.

If you are interested in my memoir,  "Fireworks at Dawn", an Artist's Memoir. It is available for download at Amazon books,

a big encaustic painting

Another Hungarian Dancer painting.

32" x 40" encasutic on board.