Here it is, finally completed. It looks like I was imagining it – with the help of some permanent markers and coloured pencils I was able to sharpen the men’s faces and clothing just a bit.

Morning Conversation

In the end, I created/modified embroidery stitches on my machine to provide a bit of texture to the hanging plant behind the men and on the bush peeking in front of the sign on the left. The thread painting in this piece had more to do with creating definition rather than filling in areas as it was with the tropical flowers. Nevertheless, it took quite a bit of time deciding just what should be stitched, what colour thread, what stitch size (I ended up using a 1.5mm straight stitch for much of the stitching)… And all within the limitation of being able to stitch just once!

The hand gesture is still obvious, the second man looks attentive, and the shop fronts turned out quite well – so even though I gave up trying to create reflections in the shop windows they have turned out quite well.

I found the framing fabric in my stash – from the Northcott Medici collection I used in the large medallion quilt. The dark fabric makes the sunshine and highlights stand out.

I began working on this piece February 4 – it’s taken me just over 2 months to complete it – a lot of contemplating time involved here trying to figure out how to simplify the image and create the street scene to showcase the men.

Morning Coversation

This is piece #5 for the Parrsboro show – I need still another 5-6 wall art pieces of some sort. My self-portrait on a fall day is up next – I’m still not sure how to texture the background on that piece but I’m sure something will come to me.