Rachels Slip-On Vans

So all the ideas I fleshed out in those sketches from my last post did not seem to apply to what I painted with the acrylics. I did remove certain ideas to construct this painting but no one idea took control. I started with the anchor and painted the water around it. I originally wanted the water to engulf the anchor like the orginal colored pencil drawing but Rachel wanted the anchor to be the main uninterrupted focus for the piece. I thought that the trim of stitching around the front of the shoe resembled a rope so I painted that accordingly. To give the yellow some unity, I painted the back panel yellow also. I thought it could mimic a beach shore but I wasn't all that impressed at first. I added water around its lower edge to give the sense of the drawing of the rock claw crab in the previous post and it worked out quite well; but, at this point I wasn't sure if it was a beach or a just a yellow sandstone cliff. I had to think.

The second pair was a little easier. I had a plan for the water because they had to match the first sneaker. After I sent Rachel an image of my progress, she added that she would like a captain's steering wheel on the other shoe. Before this notion, I was going to continue with the rope idea. It was going to string along the edge like the first sneaker but dart off into the depths of that water, blending out as it got deeper. I had a hard time figuring out how to create the yellow trim around the shoe, only to come back to the foreground for it's plummet. I'm glad rachel hinted at this better option. This allowed me to continue with the rope idea while covering enough space on the toe to compostionally match the anchor on the left shoe. I had to use compass to create a perfect circle and after that it was pretty easy. A few new brushes helped create super thin lines which aided me during this portion of the painting and also contributed to the outlines within the water, rope, and anchor highlights. They also helped me figure out how to make the yellow panels actually look like sand. I darkened the edges near the water and put a starfish on one and a "X" to make the spot for my buried treasure on the other. On a side note, I doubt anyone will want to find this so called treasure because it will most likey be something that doesn't smell pleasant. What do you think Rachel's foot? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh SNAP!!!







Overall this whole ordeal sparked some new found love of painting within me. I have started painted three other pieces during this project and hope to finish them soon so I can post them. Thanks for the inspiration Rachel. I hope you enjoy the kicks.



Usually I go somewhere that correlates with my art to take pictures but with gas prices well over $4, I decided to just did it in front on my computer. Can you tell?