When you’re in the midst of producing a portfolio, it can be hard to see how much better you’ve gotten between your first project to now. But as Michelle Staub of Stitching Sabbatical shows, you should take a look every so often because you’ll be surprised at just how much you’ve improved. She recently shared her cat Purrl stitched in 2014 and then again in 2020. The difference between the two is staggering. In six years, she has purrfected her thread-painting technique to create strikingly realistic portraits of our furry friends.
Michelle captioned the side-by-side photos with a sentiment that’s helpful for every creative to hear. “What you don’t see in this comparison is the 600+ pet portraits I’ve done between them,” she wrote. “Also, all of the embroidery practice I had before I stitched Purrl the first time!”
She continues. “I’ve always struggled with my art. I think I’ve only progressed in embroidery because the medium forces me to slow down and critically think about what marks I’m making instead of scribbling something down, getting frustrated with it when it doesn’t turn out the way I want, and then throwing it away.”
Michelle caps her post with words to take to heart. “I guess what I’m trying to get at is: If you want to be good at embroidery, or even art in general, it really does just take practice, curiosity, and time. We all start somewhere.”
Learn more about commissioning your own pet portrait on her website, and follow her works in progress on Instagram.
