We couldn’t possibly judge you if you were to mistake the pictures we are about to show you for photos. After all, these landscapes are photographically real. But at the same time, they are not photos. These landscapes were embroidered one stitch at a time by the talented artist Katrin Vates. The artist lives and works in Rockville, Maryland, creating the most realistic, natural-looking, and dynamic embroideries we’ve ever seen.
Vates’ incredibly detailed landscapes depict existing places and use the color palette of nature - calm hues of green intertwined with pops of blue, brown, and red - all stitched carefully on a neutral canvas base.
As the artist revealed to My Modern Met, she perfected a signature technique that merges together French knots, straight stitching, and chain stitching to create a realistic landscape. “Generally, people think that more than half of my pictures consist of French knots but they are not. I have learned how to use the straight stitch in such a way that it can be difficult to distinguish from a French knot. Such technique allows me to bring more realism into my embroidery.”
