About 3 years ago I did a batch of hand dyes with pleating and dropped colours, and got several pieces I really liked but have never used. This green challenge gave me the chance to use one of them. It is whole cloth apart from the appliqued fence and birds.
Several things contributed to my inspiration. Firstly, I had photographed some canola fields near a river some years ago, and played with photoshop to give a crosshatch effect, which I intended to stitch one day. Secondly when I created the gate and the fence I immediately thought of Monet's magpie, even though his painting is of winter. Thirdly, going with the impressionist ideas, I chose the red poppies, which often spill at field edges - again a reference to Monet's poppies at Argenteuil.
I played with some more realistic sketches, before settling, as I usually do, on a simple graphic design. Size is 24 by 19.
