About Malcolm Hill

Malcolm and his wife Kaye have made their home in the Adelaide Hills, where they have been part of this community for over 33 years.

In his recreational time, Malcolm enjoys doing tapestries, and has been doing so since 1980. It began as a simple hobby - in the usual way, with the available traditional printed canvas style tapestry designs. Although he started with the conventional printed method, nothing else has proven quite as rewarding as the counted tapestries for which he has become so well known. Malcolm became disenchanted with the lack of detail, and inaccuracies which occurred due to the printed method generally used, and decided there had to be a better and more satisfying approach. This he found in counted tapestry, and in creating his own unique and magnificently detailed designs.

With an eye for intricacy and subtlety in colour, shade and tone, Malcolm has developed his talent into a real art form, creating numerous brilliant, original tapestries, which depict specific and totally recognizable subjects.

His technique begins with a good photograph, which is then enlarged and graphically represented. Malcolm decides on the precise shade, stitch by stitch, using his many years of artistic experience, as he develops each creation; ultimately achieving realism, accuracy and always an outstanding masterpiece.

"I always start with the eyes", says Malcolm. "I have to get them right before I go on with the rest", he says. "The eyes convey so much, so I need to give them an intensity or a sparkle that gives some insight into who they are." Many people comment that there is more 'life' in the completed tapestry than in the original photograph! Malcolm has worked with both full colour and more recently, sepia tones. Sepia brings with it the opportunity to weave even more detail into Malcolm's designs, as he uses up to 18 shades of the one colour (brown) to achieve a life-like, almost three dimensional image. Not surprisingly, sepia has become Malcolm's preferred style.

Malcolm's vision is for others to experience the enjoyment and fulfillment that comes from producing a quality work of art from a blank canvas. For this reason he has focused on the preparation of tapestry kits, featuring various breeds of pets and other subjects, which appeal to a broad range of people; from those experienced in various forms of tapestry and needlework, to folk who haven't ever tried.

"Counted tapestry is essentially not difficult. If you can count and stitch you can do it", says Malcolm. "The hard work has already been done. It's more accurate than the traditional method, and actually easier too." Colour-blindness doesn't even stop people experiencing great rewards and success with Malcolm's counted tapestries, as the wools are labelled to match the instruction sheet.

It's as easy as A, B, C, but SO much more rewarding!

For a complete tour of this site, follow the 'Next page' links at the bottom of each page.

Next page:  - Kits available