Friday, February 19, 2010

The Huntington Library

The Huntington Library is not just one of the world's wonders, it's also a fantastic place to go sketching. The botanical gardens are encyclopedic, they have a conservatory that has a bog habitat as well as a rain forest. We saw coffee plants, chocolate plants, pitchers, all kinds of glories. I want to go back just to draw the cactus gardens. The roses aren't in bloom for another couple of months, but camellias and magnolias were everywhere.  

http://www.huntington.org/

One of the things that was talked about in my art lesson on Wednesday laying down a neutral colored wash over the pencil linework, then adding white highlights and then the darks. The winged flower motif at the bottom was an experiment to try that out. 

The little orange and yellow flowers were from a plant in the conservatory. The sign said that the plant no longer grows in the wild. Strange to think of such a thing.

Marilyn.





"The source of continuing aliveness is to find your passion and pursue it with whole heart and single mind."


~ Gail Sheehy

5 comments:

  1. These are lovely Marilyn! I've wanted to visit the Huntington Library for a long time now. I've never been and now you've given me another reason why I need to go!

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  2. Roadtrip! Sharpen those pencils!

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  3. Theresa Clarkson-FarrellFebruary 19, 2010 at 8:33 AM

    You've inspired me to get out to our botanical gardens (Queens and Bronx)soon as possible.lovely drawings.

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  4. Oh, Marilyn, isnt the Huntington such a joy. And for a future visit, you might want to consider the relatively new Chinese Garden. I discovered that there is an audio tour for it available to download on line, (the excuse I needed to buy a new MP3 player) and there is even a Chinese cafe there with dim sum, just like at a real Chinese garden. Even though I spent a bit of time in the pavilion of the screaming child, it was still a lovely spot. And the wicker chairs on the porch of the family home...so easy to pretend it was MY home. :-) I am going again in June. Hugs, Rachel

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  5. I just love the Huntington and it's beautiful this time of year . . . if you're inclined to go indoors, check out the Beautiful Science exhibition.

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