Saturday, May 31, 2014

L.A. Arboretum part 2 ~ Sketching at the Cottage and One Amazing Peacock


I work very hard, and I play very hard.
I'm grateful for life,
and I live it.
I believe life loves the liver of it.
~Maya Angelou


After walking through the orchid house and some of the other lovely areas, in the Arboretum, I headed toward the Queen Anne Cottage, to do a little field sketch.

Mendelssohn: Spring Song




Love recognizes to barriers.
It jumps hurdles, leaps
fences, penetrates walls
to arrive at its destination
full of hope.
~Maya Angelou



Surviving is important.
Thriving is elegant.
~Maya Angelou


Queen Anne Cottage
built 1885


You might recognize from a previous post ... or as the house at the beginning of Fantasy Island! Yep, they filmed that here.


Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
~Maya Angelou


A beautiful view from the terrace ...


And I found my spot!



A lovely view for a quick field sketch!




This was my "Vine" video, which has a limit of 6 seconds! Don't blink!




The arboretum is definitely known for its peacocks, though there are quite a few geese cruising around.


On my way out, I saw these ladies ...


And this beautiful gentleman!


I walked around, so I could see him from the back ...


And as you can see, he was incredible. These following photos were not taken with a telephoto. He let me get so close and for probably 10 minutes! It was amazing.




Nothing can dim
the light which shines from within.
~Maya Angelou




I wrote this post on the night Maya Angelo passed, as you might have guessed, by all the quotes. I'm always so inspired by her words, as so many of us are and I love the story she tells in this clip, below.


Listen to yourself
and in that quietude 
you might hear the voice of God.
~Maya Angelou
her final message on twitter

Many blessings and light!

8 comments:

Rick Forrestal said...

We lost a great poet.
But her words live on . . .

rjerdee said...

Surrounding yourself in beauty...what a lovely way to spend the day and pay tribute to Maya at the same time. Lovely, Lucinda!

jane said...

what a lovely place to paint. :)
x

Unknown said...

A lovely place for art and inspiration! Thank you for the tribute to Maya A. And also for the majestic pictures of the peacock. Awe-inspiring.

donna baker said...

Beautiful place to go Lucinda. I was hoping to see your sketch. Loved it and the little video. I have about a million peacock feathers and they are truly miraculous. Ones from different areas are equally amazing.

Cinzia said...

Hello! Thank you for your visit in my blog!
Bye bye from Italy!
Cinzia

Loree said...

I love that last quote. It is amazing that the peacock let you get so close. They can be quite vicious at times. That house from Fantasy Island brought back so many memories.

Tammie Lee said...

such a lovely place to visit
you have brought back memories for me

and a lovely place for you to do art

thank you for that last film of Maya
so wonderful!