Artist’s Note
Many visitors and even residents of San Miguel Allende, are either unaware of or have never visited one of the earliest historic buildings in the area - the so-called Casqueros* chapel in San Miguel Viejo. Located about 5 kms west of the central Plaza Allende, along a dusty road extending beyond the railroad station, San Miguel Viejo was the first settlement here, founded by Fray Juan de San Miguel in the 1530s. Fray Bernardo CossÃn, another early Franciscan evangelizer and associate of Fray Juan built the primitive mission here, which was subsequently abandoned because of persistent raids by Chichimec tribesmen and, ironically, the lack of reliable fresh water
The painting was done en plein air along with ten other painters who were participants in a workshop organised by Donna Dickson.
The sky was clear but there was a bite in the air and the sun was very bright making it difficult to choose a spot to paint. I sketched before generating the painting, which was one of my first in San Miguel.
