French knots are an interesting and a very effective way to create subtle colour changes and create a paint-like effect. The effect of so many tiny stitches to create shading is particularly impressive when viewed from a distance. A pity it takes so unbelievably long!
For the final piece of this project I chose a watercolour from my sketchbook. Based on a poppy head from my mother-in-law's garden, this was a photograph of the poppy...
This was my watercolour of the same scene...
From this I selected the head of the poppy as my subject, using a combination of the watercolour and the photograph for colour inspiration. I began with a cartoon sketch on a piece of cotton...
Prepared a series of coloured threads...
And used the threads to create a colour wrap and the finished piece....
And here's how it compares to the photo...
Thoughts:
Some aspects of the finished piece are better than others. The top fluted section and the stem are quite successful. The body of the poppy head is a fair attempt but should have been worked in finer thread to allow more variations when combining the strands for new colours. More colour variations would have given the opportunity for more subtle colour transitions.On the whole though, I am fairly happy with this piece.
