From loom to easel....

Daffodils   16"x20" oil on canvas

Having cut the "October" tapestry from the loom, I need to get a couple (or more) of paintings done for several summer exhibits. So over the weekend I cleaned the studio (always a post-cutting off task) and moved from the loom to the easel to work.

I had started this painting of daffodils awhile back, but  haven't had time to work on it since then.  I now have it pretty much finished, except for corrections I may see as I live with it for a few days. It is 16" wide and 20" high, so the daffodils are much bigger than life! Today, I am liking the splash of color it adds, as I've propped it up where I can see it every now and then, when I walk into the sitting room. I like to do that with a painting; put it where I can see it as a 'surprise' (or with 'new eyes') as I walk into a room, other than the studio. Sometimes then I can see things I have missed while I've been so close to it at the easel. I do the same thing when I work on tapestry designs, and try to work everything out that I feel needs changing in the design stage - before the weaving begins, as a tapestry can't be 'edited' after completion, like a painting can be.

This photo just shows you a big part of my job description around here. At the basement door, one wants in and one wants out, and I get to be the doorman! Over and over again, all day long...... They do not tip well, either.

Working around in my head is the next tapestry design. I have one for the month of June that is pretty much a complete design already, so I may warp for that. I will be exhibiting at the local Fine Art Center in the fall, and they want 7-8 new pieces. That means the Calendar Series, as that's what I've been working on the past few years (with the exception of the Nativity church commission.) I now have seven of the calendar tapestries done, so will weave another before then. Fortunately, the design I have for June is a pretty simple, non-fiddley one, so it should weave up a bit more quickly than October did!