The Canvas I Speak Of

I often think that the night is more alive than the day

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh

Starry Night (September 1888, French: La Nuit étoilée), commonly known as Starry Night Over the Rhône, is one of Vincent van Gogh‘s paintings of Arles at night. It was painted on the bank of the Rhône that was only a one or two-minute walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine, which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of Van Gogh’s more famous paintings, including Café Terrace at Night (painted earlier the same month) and the June, 1889, canvas from Saint-Remy, The Starry Night. [Wikipedia]

Inspiration

I don’t know very much of art but since I was young the life of Vincent Van Gogh and his paintings were very inspiring. A beautiful documentary that I saw once drew me closer to the artist. On the radio I would listen to the song Vincent by Don McClean which I would often sit up late for the show that played it.

The Milky Way

I had the privilege to be a part of a wonderful safari in the Kanha Tiger Reserve. One night when we were outdoors we gazed above at the Milky Way so brilliant in that clear sky.

I was so touched by that moment that at first I wanted to gift my friend and travel organizer something special for bringing me there. The work I went on to do which I will tell you soon couldn’t get me to part with it. It had to be my very own.

The starry night I witnessed reminded me of the painting The Starry Night so I went online looking for a printed canvas of the same. I couldn’t find one but found Starry Night over the Rhône more commonly referred to as Starry Night and the precursor to the more celebrated painting The Starry Night. This I discovered much later just to say.

The First Cross Stitch

When the canvas arrived I remember this was in November, 2021 I spread it out and looked at it. There were blocks and threads of all colors and I didn’t know how to proceed. So I put it aside and did a bit of research among videos to find out how to begin the work on the canvas. Once I understood that, I practiced a sample cross stitch which was all I really needed to know.

Then I began. At first I spent long hours on the canvas I was somehow able to but each stitch took a measurable amount of time. With it I had to develop patience. It could seem like a little but the work was vast. I did have patience in fact I began to love the canvas dearly it brought me great joy. Although I did have to slow my pace down because it became more arduous over the months.

As the seasons passed, it began to mean different things to me. I also wrote an Ek Kahaani, ‘The Canvas,’ which is linked to my first book, ‘Red.’

Happiness

There was constant organizing to do shades had to be replaced, new needles, threaders in spare. It was beginning to be a very long term project. There were times I thought I’d be on the verge of completing everything but there was always more.

It gave me happiness to work on a canvas that was one of Vincent’s many great paintings. When I stitched the lovers and to see that patch of canvas come alive meant something special to me.

The final act of washing the canvas seemed like a culmination but quite frightening and later there were still a few finishing stitches left to complete.

In Starry Night Over the Rhône, Van Gogh captures his characteristic magical starlit sky, peeking through the darkness of night and twinkling off the river. This respite from the darkest of days is a moment of peace, a brightness when the weight of the world feels crushing and inescapable. [aspeninstitute.org]

My Starry Night Complete

This is exactly how the starry night made me feel in Kanha. During the darkest days it brought about a moment of peace and serenity that things would be alright. It made me feel blessed to encounter such a wondrous night sky and I immediately linked it to Van Gogh.

A twinkling night sky with swirling stars, lovers walking in Arles, one printed canvas, a million stitches with different hues, threads everywhere, a happy weaver, with a smiling, little companion, time that was never enough, black and blues that never seemed to end, quiet patience and with it my Starry Night over the Rhône complete.

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer’s day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul