Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Polishing a halo


There are a lot of areas calling for metallic thread in this canvas, so I decided to attack some of them first instead of working the face.  The outside rim of the halo was painted in the same gold used in the wings, and I wanted to distinguish one from the other.  So the gold of the halo was stitched in basketweave with Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 002V, and Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 002 was used for the wings.  It doesn't show up very well in this photo, but the difference in golds is definitely noticeable .

Kreinik #12 tapestry braid 001 was worked in tent stitches and basketweave for all the silver areas.  Inside the halo are DMC floss #3811 and Petite Very Velvet in a slightly darker shade to define the "spokes."  (Do halos have spokes?  I don't have a halo, so I can't answer that.)

The edging of her sleeves was stitched  with the same DMC floss, and her neckline was worked in the Kreinik braid 002 in slanted Gobelin stitches.  The same metallic braid will be used for the outside edge of her sleeves and the decorative swirls on her overskirt.

Now to work on her wings!

1 comment:

Needle Nicely said...

I like the distinction in the two golds. I seem to remember spokes in the halos on Russian icons--like the way yours look. I'm also in love with some recent gold additions--3260, 3270, and 3280. They seem to be richer.