So I’ve been working (albeit slowly) on the cardinal needlepainting. The angle of the long and short stitches on the female bird was tricky. But I like the results. Her coloring came out more greenish than originally intended, or than the photo. This is due to using my painting as a source, rather than the photo. And, in all truth, I think that’s the way to go on these things. Photo reproduction has never been my style. Nor has reproduction of paintings in thread, so the fact that this version is different from both my photo references and my paint sketch is a good thing.
Not a lot of explanation here today. Just eye candy. You can click the image on the left to see it full size and get a better view of where the stitches angle. Also note that when you enlarge it this much, you can see the spaces between the stitches on the female cardinal. Needlepainting is a balance of crowding and spacing stitches to get the color differentiation you need. These stitches do not show when you are just looking at the piece. This is what is meant when directions say “don’t crowd the stitches.” There are, of course, spots where my stitches ARE crowded. Sometimes that’s important, too. Rule breaking. Learn when to do it through practice!
