San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

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2026 was scheduled to be my first year away from Latin America and on to a new chapter in Eastern Europe. The plan was based on a circular route that would take me through seven countries of the old Soviet block highlighted by the grand cities of Bucharest, Sophia, Budapest and Belgrade. Unfortunately, the unrelenting war in Ukraine continues to fester with a possibility of escalation and expansion. This and the bellicose rhetoric of White House hawks towards the country of Iran had me concerned. Additionally, my artwork had evolved into another level with experimentation into three dimensional options so I made the decision to return south and spend an extended stay in San Miguel de Allende - a city known for its artist community and galleries that support them

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I visited San Miguel in 2023 in route to San Cristobal from Mazatlan but my stay was not long enough to fully appreciate the city’s UNESCO designation nor Conde Nest's Award as the Worlds Best City in 2013. Not sure I’d agree with that assessment but clearly, it’s an attractive place loaded with color, texture and well preserved historic architecture that's emblematic of many small Mexican towns.

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I decided on a three month period of time to begin the process of developing new ideas from printed material I carried with me and others subsequently purchased and shipped from a US source. Other materials such as board, wax, pastels, varnish and blades are readily available in San Miguel so my work flow remained fluid with minimal interruptions. Additionally, I was able to secure a spacious apartment in the upper hills of town known as Balcones. Essentially, the apartment was the lower floor of a large home with an adjacent outdoor terrace-ideal for spreading work on the floor and living within the surroundings of my creativity.

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In between work sessions I spent most of my time exploring this beautiful high desert region with its unique flora/fauna footprint. San Miguel is friendly community of locals and expats from Europe, Canada and the United States so whenever I felt the need to induge, plenty of options became available. Overall, a very productive and enjoyable three month period of time which I plan on repeating in the fall.  In between then and now, I'll resume my exploratory travels south until I reach the border of Guatemala before crossing to renew my six month visa. The fascinating hill town of Taxco in the middle of Mexico’s cartel country will be my first stop enroute.