Canvases
Hand-painted Needlepoint Canvases
Mimbres /Fish,copyright Napa Needlepoint, available from Whimsy & grace
Hand painted canvas needlepoint, or painted canvas, is the most popular form of needlepoint in North America. In it, a design is painted, almost always using acrylic paints, onto canvas.
Either you or the stitch guide writer chooses threads, stitches, and techniques to make the design come alive — it’s truly a collaborative process.
No matter how beautiful it may be, the hand painted canvas is not complete until it is stitched. The dialogue which happens between the artist, who created the design and put it on canvas, the stitch guide designer, who picked threads and stitches to make this design come alive in stitches, and you, who by stitching and making changes, give the needlepoint it final form.
Each person in this process adds a bit to the creation of a lovely needlepoint.
In this section of All about Needlepoint, you’ll learn about the different aspects of stitching painted canvas needlepoint. It starts with understanding the different ways the design gets onto canvas. You’ll learn about backgrounds, choosing them, and picking their color, and how to change colors on hand painted canvas needlepoint. You’ll also learn about collecting needlepoint. You can also learn how to choose colors, stitches, and threads to enhance perspective in your needlepoint.
Through step by step tutorials you learn how to read a canvas as you stitch it (Stitching without a Net), and will be able to participate in stitch-a-longs and cyberclasses designed for people who love hand painted canvas.
One great way to begin stitching these canvases is with a needlepoint stitch guide (learn all about them in this section of All about Needlepoint) which will help you by selecting threads, and usually stitches for creating the canvas.
I had been stitching for over a decade before I discovered these exciting works of art. I always have a pile of them in process and even the ones I can’t physically stitch I stitch in my mind.
So come along with me on this wonderful journey.