Love This #95: Suzy Watson's detailed designs

Today I’m sharing some of the most fabulous embroidery I think I’ve ever seen, and even looking at them now I can’t help but be amazed. These pictures are clearly taken through glass, but even so it’s clear to see the detail.

A detailed embroidered flamingo against a blue background

These all formed part of the exhibition by Suzy Watson at the 2021 Knitting & Stitching Show held at Alexandra Palace. The exhibition was titled Birds of Paradise, and it represents Suzy’s study of colour and how she views it.

An embroidered potted cactus with a flower on top on crumpled cream fabric in a white frame.  Threads extend from the picture over the picture mount.

For each piece of art, because let’s be frank that’s what they are, Suzy uses more than 200 threads to create the picture building up the layers from dark to light, and she aims to create “a series of work that feels real and comes to life”.

Tick.

She’s done that for me, each piece is incredible, isn’t it?

A set of four square framed embroidered birds heads which remain in their embroidery hoop

I could have quite easily left with any of the pieces I’m sharing here today, and these bugs held an unexpected and special appeal - which I’ve still yet to fully explain to myself, so there’s no chance of explaining myself in writing.

a larger painting of bugs in a grid format five abreast and five deep, the colours painted on are jewel like - and are in places painted outside of the lines

And then I spotted the glass display case of embroidery hoops, which I spent a fair time admiring and managing to capture even more of the detail by laying my phone directly on the glass.

Looking into a glass display case onto many embroidery hoops, including some of vegetables, bugs and portraits

Just look at the work involved, and the detail.

A close up of the embroidery details of three onions, photo taken through the glass display case
A green bug in an embroidery hoop, close up taken through a glass display case

Now tell me they’re not art.

A drawing of a prickly cactus - painted in greens with oranges and peach colours as highlights
A drawing of a prickly cactus with a pink flower on its tip, with a splodge of pink paint to its side

The cactus paintings were equally as charming, discovering the work of Suzy Watson at this show was pure delight.