Spotted Wood Kingfisher by Renette Kumm

Have you ever admired a life-like artwork from a distance and thought, that is a beautiful painting, only to discover that upon closer inspection the artwork has in fact been created using needle and thread instead of paint?

Not to take anything away from the fine art of painting, but it’s fair to say that creating a hyper-realistic image of a real-life subject using needlework, is no easy feat.

If you have ever wondered how those amazing, stitched portraits are possible, today we’re going to give you a glimpse into the world of South African designer Renette Kumm who has become both an authority and specialist in realistic bird portraits.

The Spotted Wood Kingfisher (Actenoides lindsayi) is a Tree Kingfisher endemic to the Philippines. It inhabits subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Featured in the current issue of Inspirations magazine issue #127, Renette has created the most piercingly realistic stitched portrait of this beautiful creature you may ever see.Renette has created the most piercingly realistic stitched portrait of this beautiful creature you may ever see.

Today we’re going to look at two elements that are essential to achieving a photo-realistic embroidery project such as this.

The first is, Know Thy Subject Well. The second is, Shading, Shading, Shading.

Know Thy Subject Well

Here is an extract from Renette’s notes as to her discovery and observations of her chosen subject matter:

‘The spotted wood kingfisher is a colourful bird that can readily be distinguished from other kingfishers in the Philippines. It is about 26 cm (10 in) long with spotting above and scalloping beneath.

The male has a dark green crown with black spots and a light green stripe above a pale blue supercilium with a black band beneath. A blue moustache is bordered above and below by an orange-brown band and collar.

The upper parts are dark green, each feather being tipped with buff giving a spotted effect. The rump is bright green and the tail dark green with brown bars on the outer feathers.’

‘The throat is orange-brown and the underparts are mainly white, the breast feathers having green margins. The under-wing coverts are buff. The upper mandible of the bill is black and the lower mandible yellow, the iris is brown and the legs pale green.

The spotted wood kingfisher occurs in pairs or as a solitary bird but is seldom seen because it moves around in dense cover in the lower storey of the forest. It feeds on beetles and other insects, snails and small vertebrates, which it probably finds while foraging on the ground.’

‘Little is known of its breeding behaviour; it is thought to nest in termite nests in trees, but this may not be the case because other members of the genus mostly choose to nest in holes in trees or in the ground.'

Now, the first thing you might notice about the information that Renette has gleaned is how detailed and specific in nature all her observations are.

Renette systematically blocks through all the key characteristics and meticulously notes every little detail and its associated patterning and colour scheme.

Even its environment and lifestyle behaviours are noted. Why? It helps to ensure Renette accurately captures its pose, its expressions and mannerisms along with any external factors, such as what it might be resting on, to ensure all the minute details in her design are 100% accurate.

Shading, Shading, Shading.

Once Renette has completed her research, to bring this little fellow to life and make it look realistic, it will require the same attention to detail in thread selections and placement.

The secret to capturing or creating a spectacular image is to pay meticulous attention to the light source and the shading that it creates.

In this magnificent project, Renette assembles a thread palette consisting of over 50 different shades and makes perfect selections to replicate all the hidden nuances of the shading.

The good news is that for you to create your own threadpainted masterpiece, Renette has done all that hard work for you. She conducted all the detailed research, designed a picture-perfect replica of the real thing and has chosen all the thread colours and placements for you.

To provide even further assistance, our kit team has sourced every single thread colour, all the needles and even pre-printed the design onto the fabric for you so you can start stitching straight away.

Thank you, Renette, for yet another stunning piece of stitched art featuring one of the most spectacular avian friends on the planet.

Kit and instructions (sold separately) are available using the link below.