To the lighthouse

Another Sailor's Valentine? You bet! And this one is at least two and a half times larger than the one I just completed!

I was commissioned to design a Sailor's Valentine eight inches in diameter on 18-count canvas. The larger size provided me the opportunity to incorporate one of my lighthouse designs in its entirety, as the central scene is four inches in diameter.

Once again I've chosen the island of Nantucket for my inspiration, focusing on the lighthouse at Brant Point. Commissioned in 1746, it's the second oldest lighthouse in the United States, after the one at Boston Harbor. At least eight structures have stood on or near this site, besieged by fire and ravaged by storms off the Atlantic Ocean, giving the structure we see here the dubious distinction of being the most moved or rebuilt lighthouse in the country.

I'll be stitching this model with the intention of having it framed, although it could be just as easily worked as a boxed pillow without a lot of surface embellishment on the outside of the octagon. I'll start with the center scene, and work my way out!