Plein Air, Greenwood House, Hudson, Quebec, 2017
“When clouds appear like towers the earth is refreshed with showers”. Throughout Quebec this summer we know this saying; we have daily downpours, showers and thunderstorms but regardless we find dry time to sketch outdoors.
Linda Drewry continues her Tuesday plein air outing This past Tuesday we sketched at Greenwood House, Hudson, Quebec. Most of us have tried several times to paint this house and we always manage to miss or misplace a dormer, forget about aligning roofs, doors and chimneys. A quote from their website helps explain this source of our problem with the origin and the house’s many roles and additions. Perhaps, we have a partial excuse for our faulty work.
“Jean-Baptiste Sabourin first settled the Greenwood property in 1732. The original Sabourin homestead still stands and forms part of the house. The property remained in Sabourin hands until 1820. At that time, John Mark Crank Delesderniers purchased it. He intended it to be both a residence for his son, Peter Francis Christian, and a general store and trading post. In the 1840’s, it served as the first post office in the area. Greenwood was extended eastward on two occasions, in the 1820’s and again after 1860″.
Now the property and house belongs to the public when the last owner Phoebe Nobbs Hyde left it in her will to the Canadian Heritage of Quebec. For opening hours and events visit their website.
Below are my sketches from the south side of the house.
House and gardens, late morning, watercolour, 2017
House and garden in afternoon after four gardeners gave a weed and trim, watercolour, 2017
Love these photos – especially after seeing the outside of this magnificent old building. It is hard to image these heritage homes withstanding all these years, when homes built in the mid 1900s are being torn down. Thank you for sharing, Linda – always interesting stories about your art
We passed this house on our way home during this spring flooding of the Ottawa River. It was built to survive on elevated land. Take care with the timber fires.