It’s clear that Domaine Cataraqui was once the humble abode of some rich folks.  These days, however, there’s a public component to the estate grounds, including a large parking lot, a communal garden and a bunch of picnic tables.  The main building now houses a cooking school.  Still, there seems to be an active staff maintaining the place.

For our regular sketching group, it’s a wonderful place to go sketching because one can sketch nature or architecture and so we headed there on a nice sunny day to burn some ink.

I found a nice spot under a huge elm that had a good view of the greenhouse attached to the mansion and went to work.  For some reason I found it more complex than I thought it would be but I got lost in the sketch and well over an hour had passed before I came out of my haze.

Stillman & Birn Delta (8×10), Platinum 3776, Platinum Carbon Black

I spent the next few minutes wandering around, mostly taking a break but I found this large pile of equally large rocks with flowers planted in the crevices.   I always find drawing rocks to be lots of fun and these were no exception.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (5.5×8.5), Platinum 3776, PLatinum Carbon Black

Then it was time for a snack and sketcher talk.  Hope you like the sketches as much as I liked doing them.