Provence

The sky

In this third stage of the Provence project, attention now turns to the sky, which alone occupies almost half of the space to be embroidered.

It is an essential element of the composition: it sets the rhythm, the atmosphere, and the breathing space of the landscape.

The challenge here is to suggest both the swelling and movement of the clouds, while maintaining an impression of lightness. To achieve this, I deliberately allowed the blue linen to play its role as a backdrop, so that it could fully contribute to the interpretation of the sky and bring that essential feeling of air and depth to the whole.

To accentuate the movement of the clouds, I worked on their design using arabesques embroidered with chain stitch and stem stitch, which naturally follow the curves and reinforce the sensation of swirling in the sky.

To break up the monotony of the plain blue linen, I also added subtle touches of straight stitching, slipped into the curves, in a shade very similar to that of the background fabric. These enliven the surface without weighing down the overall effect, while maintaining the impression of lightness and airiness that is essential to the atmosphere of the landscape.

Here are the colors I used to create the sky

DMC 3849

To guide you in making them, here are some close-up photos 

Part of the sky to the left of the trees

Parts of the sky located in the central part of the pattern

Parts of the sky located on the right side of the pattern