#38: Singing

Last year I bought a Singer Featherweight machine. I had been reading about them on quilting blogs, and discovered they are all the rage with quilters. A week after receiving my first machine from eBay, I bought another one from a lady in the area. I have acquired more, but that's another blog post! More recently, I participated in an acrylic painting class. For our third class we were supposed to bring something to use for a still life painting. Oops, somehow I forgot that message. However, I did have my sewing machine with me, so what the heck. Why not! Oh my.... now I know why not! Black. Shiny. Detailed. That's why not!

What I liked about this painting: 

I am actually quite pleased with the impression of a black, shiny machine with silver details. She shading on some of the details, the pin cushion for example, lends a 3D effect to the painting. 

What I might do differently:

The perspective on the machine is all wrong. This was actually my second attempt, and there are areas that are still off. I am not enamored with the background. I realize now that the machine actually looks like it is falling off the back of the table! 

Abra cadabra.... the table edge has moved!

What I learned:

I learned to make black without using black! I mixed Cadmium red, Ultramarine blue and a dark yellow. It really didn't look black, but on paper, it works. The instructor was adamant that I not pull out my tube of black as she says it really looks flat and has no vibrancy. I'm not certain mine has vibrancy, but.... 

I was quite pleased with the impression of silver that I was able to create using various mixes of white with my black. Nowhere on the painting is pure white used.