Oakley House where Audubon crafted many of his bird drawings

Below medium: Watercolor pencils and ink pens

Above is Judy' Journal entry from December 16, 2004 with a sketch of the beautiful white peacock at Oakley House where Audubon crafted many of his bird drawings.

Above a journal with Audubon sketches.

I assume it is a replica since it is just sitting out without any protection from the elements.

In the summer of 1821 John James Audubon moved to the Oakley Plantation located in Feliciana Parish Louisiana. He combined teaching drawing to Eliza Pirrie, the young daughter of the owners of the house with working on his massive collection of drawings called the Birds of America. The Plantation is now part of the Audubon State Historic Site between Jackson and St. Francisville. (Above is a closeup photo of a journal resting on Audubon's desk in the exhibit in his bedroom/studio at Oalkey Plantation.) We had the good fortune of stumbling into this beautiful historic site in December of 2004. We just happened to see a small sign on the highway on the way to our winter vacation. What an unexpected treat to see the room where Audubon completed many of his drawings of birds and local flowers. The museum placed samples of his journals through out the small studio and bedroom combination. It is astounding what beautiful detail and quality he achieved with paint, brushes, and paper in what was a remote setting in the early part of the 19th century. I think of how I go to the local art store and buy the latest gadget and imported brushes for my watercolor drawings and imagine how he gathered his supplies and carried them by boat and then on horseback to the rural area of southern Louisiana.

How fitting that the most glorious bird greeted us on the sidewalk as we approached Audubon’s living quarters. It was a beautiful and mysterious looking white peacock. I am afraid my photo and simple drawing does not do it justice. It is interesting that if you put in “white peacock” 1n Goggle you get several sites with this same white bird. One is a black and white photo by Julie Mihaly that makes the bird look very enchanting: http://www.juliemihaly.com/photographs1.html.
I have several versions of Birds of America on my bookshelf—all of modest quality. But I have always enjoyed browsing through them and marveling at his detail and interesting perspectives. I grimace when I think about the way he wired his specimens into these unusual poses and only imagine keeping them around the plantation for several days in the south Louisiana humid hot summer days. Oh, lets not even think about that. Just appreciate the art and importance of his botanical record.