Call to artists of San Miguel de Allende

Published October 27, 2021

By Ingrid Lundquist

If you’ve been itching to go outdoors to paint, you are cordially invited to join us. We are a newly formed group of novices, wannabes, professionals and everything in between. Oil, watercolor, pastels, pencil, ink, crayon, you’re in. Enjoy the comradery of likeminded artists, in and around San Miguel de Allende. Vineyards, parks, ranches and the Presa are ideal; we can add social time at nearby restaurants and cafes. Plein Air got its start decades ago with the French Impressionists, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, and so on. Twenty years ago there were only a few scattered Plein Air clubs and associations. Thanks to Eric Rhoads, publisher of Plein Air Magazine, the movement has surged to hundreds of clubs, paint outs, juried shows and an annual convention with more than 1000 artist attendees.

San Miguel is ideal for Plein Air painting. We are anticipating the beauty and colors of the outdoors that can only be seen accurately in the open air with our eyes. A camera does not operate the same way as our eyes; it focuses on everything equally, darkens shadows, and obscures the colors therein. It captures a fraction of a second in time and not the whole experience of the true colors, atmosphere, temperature, sounds, and ambient of where we are. Our eyes, on the other hand, focus on one thing at a time and our peripheral vision is more blurred; we see the true color of objects, reflected light, ambient light, and sky shine. Our painting involvement then becomes a sensory encounter. Our first outing will be simple, somewhere easy to get to near a café for socializing after we pack up our great or awful paintings. You never know. It’ll be in November as I’m focusing on my upcoming art show till the end of October.

Coming to San Miguel from thirty years as an Hawaiian seascape artist, my subjects were painting swaying palms, warm sand beaches, crashing surf, green velvet mountains, and tropical flowers. The abrupt change to the views of vast deserts, organos, nopal, mesquite flora, vineyards, ranches and delightful colonial architecture of San Miguel are an exciting challenge.

Please contact Dawn Lundquist by email, dawn@lundquiststudios.com, visit my website, by phone 808 635 2785, or better yet let’s meet in person at my debut art show and reception, “Back to Life” On November 8, 5–8pm at Casa De La Noche, Bordello Gallery, Organos 19, Centro, SMA. Mark your calendar. Antojitos, wine, and refreshments will be served. I know it’s a Monday, but please make the effort, you won’t be disappointed. Looking forward to meeting you.