A Tribute to Vincent by Gail Sirna

Some years ago I attended an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago; it was entitled Van Gogh and Gauguin:  Studio of the South.  Here I became fascinated with Van Gogh's work, and particularly with his renditions of vases of sunflowers.  Van Gogh did several of these, so enthusiastic was he about the abundant sunflowers that grew about his home in Arles, France.

Tribute to Vincent is my interpretation of this same theme; it is based on Van Gogh's work, but is interpreted in needlework.  It is also a study in analogous colors, and is a sampler of raised techniques to effect texture.   One flower will be worked in detached needleweaving.  Another is rendered in bullions.  Other stitches are employed to give depth and dimension to the design, all the while working in glorious values of yellow and its analogues. Indeed, this design has become a sampler of embroidery techniques, but remains pleasing to the eye in its unity of color and shape.