shoe thoughts

 Van Gogh did about a dozen shoe paintings in his 10 years of um, painting.  And I think that's kind of neat.

When Van Gogh was alive, peasant shoes would often have wooden soles and a whole different style of making them.  But they were still recognizably shoes.  And as the shoes are worn, they take on the characteristics of the wearer.

I usually mange to make a shoe last about 5 years of hard work on the farm.  This pair failed to protect me from a rusty nail that was hidden in the mud, so it's on the way to the trash.  But first, I took some photos and I wondered how hard it would be to paint it.  So I start with a drawing.  

And yes, the chicken is necessary.  

gonna try and paint cathy (it didn't go well)

 

I like Beam Paints a lot so I'm going to try these.  I begin by applying masking fluid for the parts I want to remain white.

Washy backgrounds are looking good.  Now, can I paint the chicken.

First layer, wet in wet to get the foundations down.  

A bit darker - remembering that watercolour values are more to do with saturation than blackness or whiteness.

Although this is getting away from me a bit.  

Let's add some details.

Um... yeh.  That didn't turn out how I expected.  Interesting and it is chicken shaped, but not Cathy.  I need to practice with the Beam Paints more because they are quite a bit more vibrant than I am used to.