Beaded Paintings

[chek (Pat)]

Another genre I like to work in is “beaded tapestries” that use beads instead of brushes to paint with. I only create tapestries with my beads; I don’t much care to make jewelry, can, but not my thing.

This is a project I have been working on (on and off) for sometime as it is a very large tapestry (considering the tiny beads I’m using to make it) that will measure 19 inches by 24 inches when done and will contain over 112,000 beads. It will be sent to my local police department when done.

I got the idea for this project when I stumbled across the photo of a badge, below, and immediately pictured it in my mind as a beaded tapestry, thinking how vivid the colors would be in beads. And so I began to replicate it using my teeny tiny (size 11) Miyuki Delica beads. They are the best seed beads there is, and I will work with no other size, or kind, than these!! I am soooo in love with them!!

For this project I chose to work the tapestry in peyote, a stitch that is done by hand (not woven on a loom) working with just a needle, thread and beads.

Photo of the badge that I am trying to replicate in beads

…top picture - off to a good start:

made this bead box that holds 100 bead colors (there are over a thousand colors)

…just a peek at the back of my tapestry

…love my tiny Delicas!!! That’s those little dots you see here

more work done on the tapestry

more work done

some more work done, 40,000 beads so far

the colors in my palette box used only for THIS project

When I start a different tapestry I will remove all beads from the box and replace with colors chosen to be used for the new project.

…the next couple of pics are pics of misc tapestries I did eons ago.

This was the very first thing I ever did in beads and is what got me started with working in beads. She is also done in peyote, off the loom

here is more peyote work, my son and his wife

this is loom work (not peyote), work woven in beads on a loom! And he is still on the loom!

and “Rocky” a picture of a beloved pet that passed, done for a friend in peyote - 10,700 beads.

[Bunny1kenobi (Deanna 🇺🇸)]

Dang! I need to learn peyote! I love what you are doing for the police officers.

[Kwality570]

These are absolutely gorgeous!!!

[chek (Pat)]

I learned by watching a small video, and it really is an EASY stitch to learn. Know what is the MOST fun to do in peyote…I just remembered…see what I added, here!!!

I absolutely had a blast doing this work in peyote

This was done as a montage worked in 80 separate little square patches of bead work. I had to design a pattern for each and every one of the 80 patches!! There are 3 patches (squares) missing here as at the time the pic was taken, they weren’t made yet. Some of the patches had to be remade because the design didn’t line up with the patches (squares) around it. But they worked up so fast,I didn’t mind redoing them. The squares (patches) are an inch and a half by an inch and a half in size.

Completed

An earlier pic that shows squares marked off with an “X” which tells me which squares I did and what remains to be worked.

[TheMistressT (Tara - she/her)]

You’ve gotten such evocative detail from your medium!

[AIMR (Linda -2024 Choose Projects that You Want to Do :us:)]

You have such patience working with beads, jellybeans, etc. The amount of detail that you get from working with such small pieces is amazing…

This is nothing like those bead paintings that have become popular…stitched and strong…to last forever…what a wonderful project…and just WOW!

[chek (Pat)]

Know what? I have about 30 other projects I can post here… just doesn’t seem the response is worth the effort I have to put into posting it here. 5 responses, seriously? Not too mention whatever I do is not made from a kit and from what I can see seems like you prefer things made from kit work and I am not a kit worker. So I want to thank you all for having me, but I will be leaving. When you get a chance, can you please delete whatever projects I have posted. Hardly interests many people anyway.

To the few who have responded, thank you and goodbye, good life to you and yours and more importantly, stay well!
Pat

[calluna]

@chek

Hardly interests many people anyway

Not true! We all have a lot going on, which limits the commenting but not the joy you’ve brought, and it’s always amazing to see what you’ve made and your process. Do what you need to do, but it’s been great having you here for this first year of the website.
We’re still new and a small community; If you’re seeking a bigger audience, maybe Instructables.com would be a good fit?

[MistressJennie (Moderator - Jennie - she/her)]

@chek

Know what? I have about 30 other projects I can post here… just doesn’t seem the response is worth the effort I have to put into posting it here. 5 responses, seriously?

Pat, this is a community forum. We all get back as much as we put in. If you are looking for more responses for your work, perhaps you should try spending time replying to the work of other members. The relationships built here are reciprocal. Often when you make friends by commenting on someone’s work, they pay more attention to your work. Please remember, that not everyone is online 24 hours a day, and we cannot all reply to your posts instantaneously. Many of us sign on once a day to see what’s new. Or we might have only a few minutes to sign on to post our own work, or participate in a craftalong or swap.

Also, some projects will interest lots of people and others might interest less folks. This post about bead paintings might be of great interest to a member also into beading, but less interesting to someone who crochets. And that’s okay.

Finally, please do not belittle those crafters who choose to craft from kits. Kits are a wonderful thing that can spark joy and creativity. Most of us learned to craft as children with kits. Some people come to crafting later in life through a kit given as a gift. It is of course highly impressive to create your own pattern, to craft without a net. But we value all our members here, and all their routes to creativity.

[kittykill (Eat the Marshmallow ~me)]

It is unfortunate that you feel this forum isn’t a right fit for your endeavors. If you wish for me to delete your projects and your profile, please let me know via a PM and I can help you with that.

[Bunny1kenobi (Deanna 🇺🇸)]

Frankly, I’m impressed by all the hard work from everyone who posts here! Kit or no kit! As someone who has worked on miniatures both out of my own head and in a kit, I can tell you that sometimes it’s actually easier to do it out of your own head than it is to follow someone else’s ambiguous or non existent instructions!

I just want to go on record and say that if you’re crafting, if you’re creating, if you’re sparking your own imagination and / or someone else’s, well, GIDDYUP! We love you and you belong in a community like this one, that loves and supports you no matter what you’re crafting or what your skill level is! Every single one of you has inspired me at one time or another, and I love seeing what you all come up with.

[GeekyBookworm (Savannah)]

These are really cool!!!

[susieoregon (Susie (she/her) 🍉)]

Your bead work is lovely, your comment was not.

[Immaculata]

I am very impressed with all your massive projects, but we are all different. You are obviously very creative and have the skills to create very ambitious projects. But on LettuceCraft there are people from all walks of life with different skill levels. We are first of all a group of friends. Some of us own businesses or have careers, others raise families or homeschool, some are dealing with health struggles. Not everyone has time for large-scale projects. Some of us are professional artists that sell their work, others are just starting out. A lot of people make kits as well as original designs.

Personally I enjoy cross stitch, exactly because I can just sit back and relax. I draft my own sewing patterns too, but that kind of creating takes up a lot of mental space that I don’t always have. I know I’m not the most talented artist in the world, but I enjoy it a lot.