Notre Dame - Needlework Painting

Walking in Paris, you understand just why so many people have fallen in love with the city.  The Seine, the culture, there's just something in the air.  The architecture is breath-taking.  No wonder so many poets, musicians and artists found it to be a muse.

I went there a couple of years ago on my honeymoon.  Each morning Robert and I woke up with no agenda but to roam the streets to see what we found.  Every day, at some point we walked by Notre Dame Cathedral.  It sits imposing and beautiful on the river.  We saw if from the distance, and finally on our last day we approached it. Close up it's even more majestic.  Standing in front of it, you notice the details of the architecture.

I find fine needlework to posses some of those architectural qualities.  Monet's impressionistic paintings of the Cathedral at Rouen als share these same qualities.  I wanted to try my hand at this impressionistic treatment.

25-count Aida cloth is too fine and delicate to accommodate a full cross-stitch, so this was competed by tent-stitch (one stroke of the cross-stitch).  The result means the viewer can stand closer to the needlework to grasp the entire perspective.  I've found that with pieces done on larger gauged cloth, you get the full sense of the piece by standing further back.  Standing close to this one really allows you to appreciate the detail while taking in the whole piece.

There's a fair amount of detail in the Rose window, withe pinks and violets comprising the grey around it.  You can see the people entering and leaving the grand arched doorways.  They provide scale and a setting. 

Buildings don't exist alone.  Ultimately, it's the people who build them, provide the character and treat them with love (and maintenance).

You can see the original photograph below.

This painting is available for sale in my Etsy Shop.