San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico

I enjoyed Rob Erdle's Painting Workshop in Portugal so much and I totally trusted his wise choices, so I signed up for his San Miguel de Allende workshop in 2003.

San Miguel de Allende, an artists' colony.

For the group of us, looking to make art, what more could you ask? 

To think that you could spend two weeks in this wonderful place, with its beautiful central plaza, the well maintained Jardin, and the pink stone 18th century church.

The Paroquia de San Miguel Arcangel, a pastel pink and orange church built in 1683, is the city's most recognizable landmark. The church can be seen from miles away. 
It was at its best at sunset, I thought.
I did a beautiful little watercolor of it. 
Wish I had kept it - too bad, I sold it years ago.

I loved the cobble-stone streets, the colorful buildings, the picturesque churches, the many specialty shops, the interesting market, and the food.

My friend, Bev, and her twin sister, and I shared a beautiful two-story Casita. We each had our own bedroom with attached bathroom. 
We had a large open-concept living-dining room and a large kitchen, where we merely make an occasional cup of coffee or tea.
We did not need to cook ourselves, since the meals were provided. 
Our Casita was one of the many buildings in the compound. 
The garden was well-designed and well-maintained. There was a building for all of us to eat our meals in. There was a large swimming pool. A host of maids, cooks, waiters, and gardeners waited on us. 
We were pampered.

Every day, we went some place to paint. 
Every evening, we gathered around the pool for critiques of our works by Rob.

We worked hard. 

We played hard.

                               the Paroquia