This project was an exercise in turning a picture into a needlepoint. I had been thinking for a long time about turning photo like images into needlepoints. I chose this famous Rembrandt image for my first attempt for two reasons: First, it had few colors in it. Second, I have loved this painting since I was a teen. To me it represents self-dicipline.

The main effort was reducing the number of colors down to a manageable number. I ended up with six browns and three golds.

As an exercise, this was a success because it looks very much like the poster I started with. As a wall hanging, it is too dark. One of the lessons learned is to be very selective about the original picture you start with. I should have picked a brighter version of this famous paintng.

My current efforts (July 2004) are in image processing. I hope to create tools that will allow me to do other projects like this one. I have created charts for two other of my favorite paintings: Raphael's Angels but I have not yet stitched them up.

See my article about Virtual needlepoint.