You'd be forgiven for assuming that these amazing portraits were oil paintings, but take a closer look and you'll realize that they're actually embroidered. Yes, that's right; these stunningly detailed portraits are made from thread. Artist Cayce Zavaglia actually trained as a painter, but after some time she decided to find a new medium for her artwork. These pieces have amazing depth, which you simply wouldn't believe would be possible to achieve with a needle and thread. Talking about her process, Cayce says,
"Over the years, I have developed a sewing technique that allows me to blend colors and establish tonalities that resemble the techniques used in classical oil painting. The direction in which the threads are sewn mimic the way brush marks are layered within a painting which, in turn, allows for the allusion of depth, volume, and form."
Take a look at her work and see for yourself!
Website: Cayce Zavaglia
Even looking at these pieces in more detail, they do resemble impressionistic oil paintings. The amount of time that must go into creating these portraits is insane.
Cayce also likes to show off the backs of her pieces. Even from behind, they're still amazing works, just with a more abstract feel to them.
Pretty cool, right? In fact, she likes the backs of her works so much that she has created a series of paintings of the backs of her embroideries, which in turn were meant to look like paintings. Does your head hurt yet?
While her embroideries are only around 8 by 10 inches, the paintings, such as the one above, allow her to work on a much larger scale.