On the easel

 
16×20 acrylic impasto palette knife floral painting
Flower Series 148

Sometimes, I find that with larger canvases, it’s easier to lay them flat on the table, rather than use my easel. I can move around the painting better this way. The easel comes in handy when I think the painting is finished or when I want to examine the painting in its upright position to make sure everything looks right. Sometimes, when I work flat, I fail to see the vase is crooked or the flowers aren’t placed as well as they could be.

It helps greatly to place the canvas on the easel to get an idea of how it will look hanging on a wall. If I need to add more to the painting, I usually leave it on the easel. I paint a little, then step back. Paint a little, and step back. You should always do that to get a viewer’s perspective of a painting because you can’t always trust your view as an artist. Most of the time, an artist stands way too close to a painting to be able to really see it as others do.