An artist from Devon, UK is putting the landscape around her on canvas using not paint, but needles and thread. Victoria Richards’ Instagram title chromato_mania gives you a hint about the nature of her work before you even see it: on the page, where she showcases her finished pieces as well as progress shots of her embroidery frames, you can find small landscapes in beautifully rich and contrasting colors, using neat, long stitches to create fields, and fluffy knots for trees and brush. Her landscapes are inspired by the pastoral views where she lives, looking out over hills or down long roads.

Out of all of her works, however, it seems that the ones getting the most attention are her aerial landscapes. The pieces show the geometric patchwork of farmland covering the English countryside as seen from an airplane or satellite image, but lovingly hand-stitched in rich colors, and it’s a fresh take on landscape scenes.

More info: Instagram | Etsy

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Image credits: chromato_mania

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Image credits: chromato_mania

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Image credits: chromato_mania

Embroidery had a notable resurgence in the 2010s, largely driven by artists sharing their works on Instagram. Since then, we’ve seen people using its multimedia nature to make touchably three-dimensional pieces and take thread to unexpected objects. Others, like Richards, use embroidery as a medium of illustration as versatile as paint and paper.

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Image credits: chromato_mania

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Image credits: chromato_mania

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Image credits: chromato_mania

Landscapes appear to be a popular topic for embroiderers. There must be something restorative about venturing out into nature for inspiration, then contemplating the natural beauty around you while doing meditative work like embroidering.