A Day in the Country

 

The group at the throwdown

This month's outing was a trip to The Grounds. The grounds is being developed as a venue with studio spaces and a place for food trucks, art fairs and the like. It is a very quiet and peaceful country setting, but the colors are vibrant. Kathy Fediw captured that in the sketch you can see in our blog header. We were joined this month by members of the Conroe Art League.

Jeff immediately went to the far end of the property and quietly captured another hidden gem.

Cissy's sketch

Cissy was fascinated by that same piece of equipment in the trailer. Difficult to capture, she reports.

Karen's sketch

Karen's sketch hints at the ground fog that greeted us as we made an early start.

Barbara's sketch

Barbara liked the whimsicall chicken on this building.

Romana's sketch

Romana's sketch included the landscaping as well as the colorful building.

Judith's gouache

Judith's colorful gouache is a contrast in the warm tones of the building and the cool colors in the landscape.

Chris's sketch

The colorful deer on the building along the drive caught my eye. Later I noticed the homage to the Cadillac Ranch installation in West Texas.

Despite the early meet time and the more far-flung location, twelve sketchers showed up on Saturday representing the north end of our sketching area. We have lots of sketchers who live on the edges of the city and county. If you are a sketcher in Clear Lake, Ft. Bend, Baytown or Katy and have suggestions for new sketching locations, let us know. We're always looking for new places to visit.

A Visit to the Old Sixth Ward

Judith Butler Dollar

The old Sixth Ward was once one of the first "suburbs" in Houston. The neighborhood lies east of Houston Avenue and South of Washington Avenue and has some of the oldest surviving homes in Houston. Judith's sketch documents the corner in front of the old Dow Elementary, now a community center known as MECCA.

Robert James

Robert James captured the same corner from across the street and also a scooter parked around the corner.

Mary McJunkin

Mary McJunkin like the beer can Madonna in front of MECCA in Dow Park.

Richard Scruggs

Richard Scruggs drew the old grocery store on the corner of Henderson and Kane. It was recently opened again and serves food as well.

Susan DeCourcy

Susan found a charming old house on Lubbock Street.

 

Chris Fitzgerald

I remembered this vista and walked over to Silver Street to catch the contrast between the old house and the modern skyline.

the group

The day was perfect for social distancing. Too hot for much else and lots of fresh air. Those who stuck it out in the heat gathered for a group photo and a throwdown.

The throwdown

 In spite of everything, Urban Sketchers Houston is still alive and well and out there sketching. Here's hoping we'll see more of the group at future sketchouts.