Seascapes in Needlework, Part I

Simple beach scene by J.J.

If you live in a land-locked area far from the sea, as we do, you may feel little inclination to try doing a seascape. However, no landscape is as changeable as the sea and few are as expressive of mood and emotion. I became familiar with both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans when we lived in Panama, where the two are just a few miles apart. J.J. travels to Florida frequently and takes many photographs as she walks along its beaches. J.D. is addicted to fishing programs on television and is currently following one on deep-sea sport fishing. I check the National Weather Service on my computer at least daily, where I frequently find film clips of marine action which I can watch over and over until I am familiar with a particular aspect of the ocean in motion.

"Northeaster" by Winslow Homer, 1895

You also have access to such information. Your first resource is your memory. If you have ever been on the ocean or at seaside, what do you remember about it? How did you feel about the experience? Jot down notes about your reactions. They don’t need to be complete sentences — just words and phrases. Do you have pictures from that time, or might a relative have some? Moving pictures from television or electronic devices are your second resource. Check the National Geographic Channel for programs about the Earth. Other sources are travel films, series devoted to animals, and the aforementioned fishing shows. Finally, there are still pictures, whether modern photographs or paintings by masters like Winslow Homer.

Apollo 17 Image Of Earth From Space

The oceans are vast. I recently heard an astronaut describe how much of an orbit is over water. Even large continents like South America and Africa, he said, take little time to observe and then you are over water again. The oceans contribute greatly to the fact that Earth becomes the “Blue Planet” (sometimes referred to as the “Big Blue Marble”) when viewed from space. The oceans are also deep, so deep that it is hard to imagine descending to the bottom of one. They are subject to enormous physical forces — the gravitational forces of the planet and its moon, the planet’s spin, the movement of the tectonic plates, tides, currents, tsunamis, storms, seasonal temperature changes. Therefore, they are constantly changing.

Beach sunset by J.J.

The time of day you choose is important. Sunsets and sunrises at low tide are especially interesting because the water reflects the colors of the sky. There will be little blue in the water unless it is reflected blue from the sky. This may be darkened to a degree by the marine blue of the water, but the overall effect will be that of the sky colors. The white of surf and spray also picks up color from the sky. The sun itself creates a prominent path in the water. It colors low clouds and reflects on the undersides of higher ones. Seaside buildings may show color in their planes and shadows, although they do not reflect with the same intensity as the surface of the water. The shadows below the crests of waves appear very dark and there is more violet in the blues. However, the shadows become paler and grayer the further they are from the shore and the waves themselves appear smaller. Wavelets striking the land may appear as distinct bands across the surface where the water is shallow.

Arrows show the four different 'gestures'

There are four lines of directional movement, often referred to as gestures, in a composition. These are horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and curvilinear. While it is desirable to get all four into the design, an eloquent picture can be made with fewer than that number. The panoramic photograph below shows three of the four plainly. The sea’s horizons are almost always strong horizontals, as they are here. This is counterbalanced by the vertical lines provided by the two figures and their shadows. Curvilinear lines of direction come from the gentle wave forms. It would be possible to add a diagonal line with a cloud or by a sailboat on the water, but I don’t believe it would improve the composition, which so beautifully shows the powerful influence of the ocean and the solitary presence of two people who appear to have the world to themselves.

"Two Against the Tide" by J.J.

Let me show you what I mean by directional “gestures’. First is what you see in the panorama above. There is the horizontal line for the horizon. Below that are the curved lines of the waves against the beach. Off to the left are two short vertical lines for the two people, which are doubled in length by their shadows. The various lines need not be of the same length or number to give unity and balance o a composition. Diagonal lines are found both in nature, as in the branching of trees, and in man-made forms like a sailboat, the roof of a building, a construction crane, etc.

Photo by J.J.

Sunrises usually have gentler colors — pink, apricot, aqua, pale blues. The water reflects less of these colors. Before the sun clears the horizon, structures both far and near may appear only as black silhouettes. This can make a striking picture if the objects that are silhouetted have varied and interesting shapes. The rising sun (small circle at the far right of the photograph) appears largely white, lacking the vivid yellows of the setting sun, and makes a white path of reflection on the water. Colors, diluted by this white glow, gradually appear along the sides and on the tops of the shadowed forms as they emerge out of the darkness. Distant forms may remain backlit longer than nearer ones facing the sun. The sunrise colors fade faster than sunset colors and the overhead sky turns a distinct blue before they entirely disappear. There are a number of diagonals in this picture.

Winslow Homer - "On a Lee Shore"

The open ocean is a deep blue-green. As it approaches land and grows shallower, it becomes duller and other colors are incorporated: the yellow-green of seaweed, browns and grays from underwater rocks and sand, the stark white of wave crests and the off-white of spray where surging water strikes as it meets the shore. Many painted seascapes that I have seen make the sea look almost uniformly dark blue. That is inaccurate and makes the picture less interesting. You can add color to your seascape by blending yellow, green, and brown strands of yarn or floss with the blue and turquoise ones you use for the sea. Try several browns because they create different effects. If you choose to do a sunlit scene. add occasional small stitches of pastel colors to spray, where bursting bubbles make tiny rainbow twinkles.

"Safe Harbor", Nordic stitch needlepoint

A seascape need not be a complicated project. This one is a color version of the logo of a Scandinavian company that attracted me many years ago and meant enough for me to save it. Although the sail has a more modern shape, the hull reminded me of the shallow-draft Viking coastal vessels like the ones both my husband’s and my Frisian ancestors sailed in, centuries ago. I made this color version for him, with the ship at safe harbor in a fjord as the sun is going down.

Sample of Nordic stitch in both directions

The stitch, called Nordic stitch, is a very simple one. It is made up of blocks of four horizontal or vertical stitches, each over four threads, so that they are of uniform size. This is useful for creating simple designs like these silhouettes and can easily be combined with other canvas stitches, such as upright gobelin or tent stitches. Since the individual blocks of stitches are square, Nordic stitch patterns can easily be converted to counted cross-stitch patterns. Or the squares could be larger squares cut from fabric and pieced together to form a patchwork panel, or tiles glued to a wood or Masonite background.

Blue wave bargello pillow top

In Landscapes, Part IV, we promised you another of my “Bargello Plus” pictures, which featured bargello patterns plus realistic elements done in tent stitch. This particular one began with a pattern that represented rolling ocean waves. This was a traditional bargello pattern that I lengthened and extended to make larger “waves”. I used the design to make the pillow top seen here.

I left a space above the waves to represent the sky, where I embroidered a seagull in tent stitch. Then I left a space between two of the big waves for a fish, also worked in tent stitch. The composition was entitled “Seafood Surprise”. I will leave it up to you to decide which creature gets the greater surprise.

"Seafood Surprise", Bargello Plus picture

Now it is time for you to design a simple seascape of your own,

Photo credits: Winslow Homer's "Northeaster" and "On a Lee Shore", and the Apollo 17 image of Earth are in the Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons. All other photos are copyright Annake's Garden.

 This post by Annake's Garden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Projects, Pet Portraits, & Patterns: Summer Q & A, 2018

Blackwork butterfly on checked gingham

Are you still doing the Spanish blackwork?

Yes, indeed. Both the lion and the butterfly blocks are now completed. I was especially pleased with the butterfly.

Here is a picture of the chart for the fan-tailed goldfish, which is meant to be a facing companion piece to the tropical fish shown previously.

Downloadable blackwork goldfish pattern

Look for more pictures and patterns in our Autumn and Winter Questions and Answers.

You had a cute picture of mushrooms on one of your classroom posts. Are you going to do anything more with mushrooms?

That would be the January 16, 2018 post. I’m glad you liked it. Yes. I am working on a rather large piece in crewel embroidery that features several different kinds of mushrooms. Some of the sections have been shown before, but there are still a few to be completed. This is our busiest season, however, with farmers’ markets, art shows, and local events, so it will be some time in the autumn before the entire project will be ready to be shown in a post. Keep watching.

Are any of your embroideries done on a programmable sewing machine (asked at a recent show)?

None at all. All my work is handwork, done with a hook or a needle.

In a recent post you wrote about showing your classroom students how to get some special effects on pictures of their pets. Can you tell me more about those?

Iris needlepoint with light colored top stitching

Certainly. I first addressed the topic of how back-stitching around prominent features enhances a picture. This is true for pictures of plants and other subjects besides animals. Top-stitching need not be done with black yarn or floss, although that is traditional for counted cross-stitch. It can be done in a darker tone against a light feature or a lighter tint around a dark feature, and the two may be used in the same composition. Here is an example of a floral piece that I did recently.

Detail of Boston terrier pup's eyes

Next I talked about putting an accent in the animal’s eyes. Because eyeballs are round and moist, they reflect the source of light as a small bright spot, usually at the upper part of the eye. In needlework, this is commonly represented in close-up pictures by a single white stitch in each visible eye, often done over yarn with a silky or glossy floss for additional “shine”. If both eyes are looking forward, the reflection must be in the exact same position in both eyes, not as mirror images of each other. I always put the reflections in last because they really bring the animal’s — or person’s — face to life.

Detail of mouse puppet whiskers

Most mammals have whiskers of some sort. Nocturnal animals, including cats, and animals like seals that spend a lot of time underwater tend to have prominent whiskers, which give them information about their dark surroundings. Each whisker emerges from a slightly enlarged pore on the animal’s muzzle. I use a very fine-pointed pen or marker to indicate a few of these pores on the animal’s face, making them mirror images of each other. I do this even for puppets in many cases. If you prefer, you can replace these dots with tiny French knots.

Detail of raccoon puppet whiskers

Starting at each dot, I make a long stitch outward in a realistic length for a realistic picture or an exaggerated one for a toy or puppet. The whiskers fan out slightly to cover more area. Use a dark thread over a light muzzle and a white or colorless thread over a dark one. I like nylon thread or even extremely fine fishing line for the long stitches.

Detail showing shine on Boston terrier's nose

Finally I talked about putting some “shine” on an animal’s nose. A healthy pet will have a moist — or even wet — nose. In most cases the faces are small enough that the nose-shine will be on the same side of the nose as the eye-shine is on the eyes. Since skin does not reflect as much as the surface of the eyes, I don’t use white for this reflection, but rather a lighter gray or even blue for a few stitches on the animal’s nose.

I hope this expanded explanation has been helpful. Thank you very much for asking.

Have you made any more of the little squares with the animals on them (January 1, 2018)? My kids love them! I printed them out and we glued them on cardboard with magnets on the back so we could put them on the refrigerator. I hope that was all right. I guess we should have asked you first.

It is fine with me. After spending half a century as an educator, I’m delighted when something captures children’s imaginations and interests them in the natural world. I’ve been looking ahead to fall and working on this design of squirrels and oak leaves. It is still in progress and I haven’t added the colors for the squirrels, but perhaps your children might enjoy coloring the animals themselves.

Four-way squirrel design

Enjoy!

 This post by Annake's Garden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.