At the start of winter I always like to have a project started no matter where I happen to be. Embroidery work always seems to come into this category due to the time it takes, and this time I’d settle on another big cat. Although not that big, the South American Ocelot or Pardalis as it is referred to in my circa 1800 edition of General Zoology by George Shaw is considered to be one of the most beautiful. The ground colour of the male is reddish tawny above to nearly white on the lower parts of the side, breast and limbs. The richer tinged stripes on the upper part of the body are edged with black and these contrasting colours make it an ideal subject for embroidery. Like the other large cats I’ve embroidered I wanted it to be in raised stump work, but this time the inspiration for a seated pose came from Mr Heath’s fine engraving in said volume. The head however showed a rather vicious grimace, but I preferred a more passive mouth closed. Knowing from the start that it would be a jungle setting and packed full of detail meant I would have to create depth by adding raised detail. The South American jungle provides a wealth of fauna to choose from, but a river through the middle ground allowed me to split foreground and increase that depth of vision.
I started stitching shortly after my return from Brittany and by the 27th of November I had the Ocelot and raised flower detail completed. Then came the exciting part of positioning those onto the background linen canvas. After a brief trip to London at the beginning of December, for the very successful opening of my exhibition at Robert Young’s Gallery in Battersea Bridge Road, the stitching continued. The week leading up to Christmas saw a significant progress as I concentrated on stitching and not the upcoming mid-winter celebrations. On Christmas day I took some cold left over food and headed out to the coast for a very enjoyable long damp walk. There had been a brief moment of panic before Christmas, when I couldn't find the tail of the Ocelot. During clearing the table I chucked all the scraps into the bin, and along with them was the tail. I noticed my brother had already emptied the bin ready for collection that morning. I frantically untied the plastic bag and to my delight found said tail without too much trouble. A lesson learnt, to be careful when tiding up, something I normally don't do that often.
By the New Year I was entering the final stages with the foreground detail. At this stage a friend reminded me that the reverse side of embroidery can also be fascinating. So, as I approach the point of completion, I offer you a few images of my winter project.
