Gardening day at Silas W. Robbins House

Have a look at the Silas W. Robbins House. You’ll understand why I wanted to draw it. It’s an impeccably maintained Victorian home in Wethersfield, Connecticut. I won’t list all of the architectural details but if you are interested in the history of the house and how it was restored after a roof fire, you can read about it here. I drew this with my students as part of last week’s workshop with Artists Rising Retreats. Our drawing session happened to coincide with landscaping day on the property, and from what I observed, the gardens are as beautifully maintained (and colour coordinated) as the house.

In my workshop demo, I simplified a lot of the details on the house (which you will see when you look at a photo of the facade) but I tried to convey the grandeur of it as well as its position on the corner lot amongst the plants and trees. And if there are thanks to give for the beauty of this scene, it’s most definitely to the landscapers who donned their orange t-shirts for the occasion.