Tag: art

Finished: Great Blue Heron Crewel Embroidery

No Comments
It measures 9”x12” and is stitched on gray linen with Appletons wool and a bunch of no-name crewel wool threads.

I finished this embroidery. I stitched for over five weeks, many hours per week. Whew!

I started out with a tidy arrangement of wools. Near the end, I grabbed whatever I needed and have a mess to prove it. I kept track of my stitches on my original sketch.

Working with wool and linen is a treat. They go together perfectly, and I never tire of the combination. I’ve purchased some linen twill, a traditional crewel fabric, and I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Late afternoon sun often visits my embroidery projects.

I was so involved with this project that I didn’t spend much time planning another one. So now, what should it be? I think I’ll start sketching and see what calls out to me. In the meantime, I need to learn how to frame this project.

Categories: Art Embroidery Finished Object

Tags: , , , ,

Great Blue Heron Crewel Embroidery, cont.

No Comments
Getting closer but still needed are leaves, vines, grasses, cattails, and those little, important, final details.

When did I learn how to be patient? For some reason, I’m not rushing this project, planning the next one, or getting a little bit bored like I’ve done with nearly all my art with, perhaps, the exception of some colored pencil projects. I’m content to stitch for an hour, set it aside for a day or two or three, and settle back down and stitch again, all the time considering what should come next.

As the water filled in the bottom half, I had time to reflect on why I wanted to embroider a water scene with wool. I think it’s the textured, layered feeling created by physically stitching layers over layers. I don’t think I would have done it justice with pencil or paint.

I’m sticking with my goal of avoiding freestyle stitching. Stitches I’ve used lately include, the feather stitch, satin, stem, and long-and-short.

Categories: Art Embroidery

Tags: , , , ,

Gouache

No Comments
The models are Arkansas Black apples.

I’m on a gouache kick. I’m waiting for a set of acrylic gouache, and in the meantime, I’m using the Winsor and Newton set I bought a few years ago to remember the qualities of it.

Daffodils from the front yard, maybe covered by snow today.

It’s vibrant but dries matte, reworks easily with a little water, and is opaque so you can paint lights over darks. It’s very similar to casein, but casein dries fairly permanently after a period of time.

Rocks and minerals

There are a lot of similarities with Neocolor II crayons, one of my favorite mediums. I’m looking forward to trying the Liquitex Acrylic Gouache set, however, as it dries permanently.

Categories: Art Watercolor

Tags: , , , , , ,