Saturday, March 21, 2026

A Visit to the Ismaili Center

The Group
Our March sketchout was at the lovely new Ismaili Center in Montrose. The architecture and landscaping are stunning, so it was a great place to sketch. Here is our group standing out front.

You will see several sketches of the building from the front entrance in this post. But Jeff Whitley, whose sketch appears in the header, went to the back garden which slopes down towards Allen Parkway.  This is his view of the back garden and the deck  that overlooks the Allen Parkway greenspace.

Susan went to the end of the reflecting pool at the front of the building and drew the view back towards the entrance.

Susan

Sandy and Heather had a similar idea. One shows the complete building and one is a slighter tighter perspective.

Sandy

Heather
I was interested in the raked shadow on one side of the building and the intricate patterns in the concrete.
Chris
Several sketchers were interested in the gardens. In Monica's sketch you can just see the building through the trees.
Monica
Lisa drew a small pond with benches.
Lisa
Tanya drew part of the cactus garden.
Tanya

Paul went up to the deck on the upper floors and drew the view back toward the city skyline.
Paul
There was plenty to draw inside the building as well. First, there was Fran, who found a spot where there were all sorts of interesting angles to draw. She kept at it and was able to finish the drawing at home. 
Fran
Rita Wilbur lay on the floor and drew the very interesting patterns on the ceiling.
Rita
Decha found some interesting reflective surfaces.
Decha
Nick and Mark sketched inside and in pencil. You can see the same pattern Rita drew on the right hand page of Nick's sketch.
Nick


Mark
Kel was determined to find a person to draw. She finally found someone enjoying the garden.
Kel
We had a throwdown at the end. It was interesting to see what everyone chose to draw.
throwdown

If you're interested in joining us on a future sketch out, watch Instagram for details. If you would like more information or more to see more sketches, join us on Facebook. Please answer all the screening questions to join and get commenting privileges.