They may look like photographs of the beautiful British countryside of the type you'd get on picture postcards or biscuit tin lids. But if you look closely, you'll find that there's more than meets the eye.
These "photographs" are, in fact, embroideries and they were created by Suffolk artist Jill Draper who, like John Constable 200 years ago, has created beautiful images of the Suffolk countryside.
Each picture measures around 15 by 30 inches and contains hundreds of thousands of stitches done by hand and machine.
Jill was inspired by the tapestries that were created in Elizabethan England.
She paints the landscape onto padded bridal satin or pure silk with fabric dye which she fixes with heat before heavily embellishing the material with stitches to create depth. She sews for around six hours every day and relies on natural light to distinguish between the hundreds of similar shades.
Spot the difference: The astonishing tapestries that look just like photographs
By Mail Online Reporter
1st July 2010
Daily Mail
These incredibly realistic scenes from rural life have been painstakingly created by a British artist in her own living room - sewn using just a needle and thread.
Jill Draper, 62, renders pictures of rural life and shimmering seascapes in her embroidered tapestries recreating scenes with astonishing accuracy from photographs.
Each picture measures around 15 by 30 inches and contains hundreds of thousands of stitches done by hand and machine.
Enlarge
Which is which?: Jill Draper's tapestry of a heather path looks so realistic that it's difficult to tell the difference between it and the photograph. Her embroidery is on the left
Jill paints the landscape onto padded bridal satin or pure silk with fabric dye which she fixes with heat before heavily embellishing the material with stitches to create depth.
She uses household cotton or Terylene and picks from her thousands of colours applied with a sewing machine or darning hoop and hand sews special detail with pure silk.
Mother-of-two and grandmother-of-four Jill is inspired by the intricate stitching and everyday subjects of rural life found in Elizabethan embroidery. She sews for around six hours every day and relies on natural light to distinguish between the hundreds of similar shades.
Enlarge
This tapestry of Snowy Furrows, taken in Wenhaston, Suffolk, has re-created from a photograph. These incredibly realistic scenes from rural life have been painstakingly created by the artist in her own living room - using just a needle and thread
Enlarge
Photograph of Snowy Furrows, taken in Wenhaston, Suffolk, which Jill Draper has re-created in a hyper-real embroidery
Taking care to limit her hours is vital as the intense bursts of concentration required can make her nauseous.
The artist, who lives with her husband Peter, 60, a training consultant in the newspaper industry, bases her tapestries on photographs of the surrounding countryside.
Jill from Wenhaston, Suffolk, said: 'It's a passion and a labour of love - I get a thrill out of seeing the finished product, then I move on to the next piece.
Enlarge
Jill Draper at work in Wenhaston on her real life embroideries
'Once I get on the machine, I become quite manic and I will work on small areas of the picture, rather than the whole picture.
'I can work on it for days and then throw it on the floor and say 'It's finished' - and it's a crumpled pile of stitches and satin.
'I've done everything I can to make it how I want it, but I can't see it until I've stretched it. It's only when I stretch it that the picture actually shows up to anybody.
'I very rarely - once in 100 times, perhaps - go back to change something after I've stretched it.'
Jill was born and went to school on Lowestoft, Suffolk, before studying art at Leicester College of Art and going on to work in a boutique on Fulham Road, which runs through the posh Fulham, Chelsea and Knightsbridge areas of west London.
She eventually realised her artistic abilities and began sewing three decades ago to help her cope with post-natal depression after the birth of her son and daughter.
But Jill has had to fight the perception that embroidery is a hobby for old ladies and does not deserve the same status as other She added: 'It tends to be seen as a craft rather than an art, and now there are sewing machines with computers that can scan and reproduce a picture.
Inspiration: This Elizabethan English tapestry, showing a man shooting ducks whilst two anglers look on angrily as he scares the fish, was created in the Cotswolds in the 1580s.
'But every piece of work that I create is completely and utterly unique. I use the machine as if it were a pencil of a paintbrush.
'I still love to see people's reactions to the pictures. People get back to me years later and say that they still love them and have them hanging in their living room.'
The Suffolk-born artist has lived all over Britain before returning to her native region and has exhibited in British art galleries since 1978.
She works as a full-time embroidery artist and has sold hundreds of pictures through galleries and as private commissions for between £500 to £3,000 for a piece.
Jill and Peter have recently bought a plot of land in a nearby Suffolk village and plan to build an eco-home incorporating a gallery for Jill's work.
Enlarge
Jill Draper at work on her creations
dailymail.co.uk
These "photographs" are, in fact, embroideries and they were created by Suffolk artist Jill Draper who, like John Constable 200 years ago, has created beautiful images of the Suffolk countryside.
Each picture measures around 15 by 30 inches and contains hundreds of thousands of stitches done by hand and machine.
Jill was inspired by the tapestries that were created in Elizabethan England.
She paints the landscape onto padded bridal satin or pure silk with fabric dye which she fixes with heat before heavily embellishing the material with stitches to create depth. She sews for around six hours every day and relies on natural light to distinguish between the hundreds of similar shades.
Spot the difference: The astonishing tapestries that look just like photographs
By Mail Online Reporter
1st July 2010
Daily Mail
These incredibly realistic scenes from rural life have been painstakingly created by a British artist in her own living room - sewn using just a needle and thread.
Jill Draper, 62, renders pictures of rural life and shimmering seascapes in her embroidered tapestries recreating scenes with astonishing accuracy from photographs.
Each picture measures around 15 by 30 inches and contains hundreds of thousands of stitches done by hand and machine.
Enlarge
Which is which?: Jill Draper's tapestry of a heather path looks so realistic that it's difficult to tell the difference between it and the photograph. Her embroidery is on the left
Jill paints the landscape onto padded bridal satin or pure silk with fabric dye which she fixes with heat before heavily embellishing the material with stitches to create depth.
She uses household cotton or Terylene and picks from her thousands of colours applied with a sewing machine or darning hoop and hand sews special detail with pure silk.
Mother-of-two and grandmother-of-four Jill is inspired by the intricate stitching and everyday subjects of rural life found in Elizabethan embroidery. She sews for around six hours every day and relies on natural light to distinguish between the hundreds of similar shades.
Enlarge
This tapestry of Snowy Furrows, taken in Wenhaston, Suffolk, has re-created from a photograph. These incredibly realistic scenes from rural life have been painstakingly created by the artist in her own living room - using just a needle and threadEnlarge
Photograph of Snowy Furrows, taken in Wenhaston, Suffolk, which Jill Draper has re-created in a hyper-real embroidery Taking care to limit her hours is vital as the intense bursts of concentration required can make her nauseous.
The artist, who lives with her husband Peter, 60, a training consultant in the newspaper industry, bases her tapestries on photographs of the surrounding countryside.
Jill from Wenhaston, Suffolk, said: 'It's a passion and a labour of love - I get a thrill out of seeing the finished product, then I move on to the next piece.
Enlarge
Jill Draper at work in Wenhaston on her real life embroideries
'Once I get on the machine, I become quite manic and I will work on small areas of the picture, rather than the whole picture.
'I can work on it for days and then throw it on the floor and say 'It's finished' - and it's a crumpled pile of stitches and satin.
'I've done everything I can to make it how I want it, but I can't see it until I've stretched it. It's only when I stretch it that the picture actually shows up to anybody.
'I very rarely - once in 100 times, perhaps - go back to change something after I've stretched it.'
Jill was born and went to school on Lowestoft, Suffolk, before studying art at Leicester College of Art and going on to work in a boutique on Fulham Road, which runs through the posh Fulham, Chelsea and Knightsbridge areas of west London.
She eventually realised her artistic abilities and began sewing three decades ago to help her cope with post-natal depression after the birth of her son and daughter.
But Jill has had to fight the perception that embroidery is a hobby for old ladies and does not deserve the same status as other She added: 'It tends to be seen as a craft rather than an art, and now there are sewing machines with computers that can scan and reproduce a picture.
Inspiration: This Elizabethan English tapestry, showing a man shooting ducks whilst two anglers look on angrily as he scares the fish, was created in the Cotswolds in the 1580s.
'But every piece of work that I create is completely and utterly unique. I use the machine as if it were a pencil of a paintbrush.
'I still love to see people's reactions to the pictures. People get back to me years later and say that they still love them and have them hanging in their living room.'
The Suffolk-born artist has lived all over Britain before returning to her native region and has exhibited in British art galleries since 1978.
She works as a full-time embroidery artist and has sold hundreds of pictures through galleries and as private commissions for between £500 to £3,000 for a piece.
Jill and Peter have recently bought a plot of land in a nearby Suffolk village and plan to build an eco-home incorporating a gallery for Jill's work.
Enlarge
Jill Draper at work on her creations
dailymail.co.uk
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