Foot Fetish: Cow Print Slides

4.18.10
cow print slides
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Summer 2000 Sacramento @ Macy's on sale while waiting for timing belt replace on van
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These are my around the house shoes The fur has almost entirely worn off and rubber soles are cracked

I've sketched these shoes a bunch of times. I'm part of a sketching group started by Karen Winters (who was inspired by Danny Gregory) called EveryDay Matters. The group has a weekly challenge and the first on the archive list is "Draw a shoe" I always return to this pair, maybe because they have so much character.

here is a more recent iteration, done with the Brushes app on the iPad

They are beyond worn out at this point, so far gone that I've stopped wearing them, even as house slippers. Maybe they want to be sketched one more time before I toss them.

They also have sentimental value. I bought them on the road trip I took before I moved in with Severo. We drove up to Davis for a Cockeyed Ghost gig, then he returned south and I headed East. That was the I-80 trip, July 2000. I saw lots and lots of cornfields.

When Blogs Collide

I have a confession to make. Maybe you already know.

I write FIVE SIX blogs.
Not ALL THE TIME. Heavens, no.

"Why can't you combine them all into one?" you ask.
I don't know. Somehow, I need the separation. There are times, however, when my worlds collide. This morning (VERY EARLY this morning) I got to thinking about the shoe sketchbook that I started three years ago. I dutifully posted the sketches over on my sketch blog:

this is the second to last one as of today

Then, life interrupted my shoe sketching flow. (Hello cancer). OK, THAT'S been conquered.
Onward.

There's a very dusty pair of rubber boots out on the back porch that I wanted to include in the book before they go in the rubbish. They recently resurfaced during a clean up session. Now that I'm sketching here, I'm going to repost the "In My Shoes" sketchbook and expand the entries with extra stuff.
"Foot Fetish" will be the series' title.
If you're seriously impatient, you can preview the entries over on the sketch blog. Then come back here.
Tomorrow, I'll start with the first page.

Figuring It Out As I Go

This year, I set an intention to sketch at fashion events. The two events hosted by the Los Angeles Fashion Council that I attended last week gave me a perfect opportunity to put intent into action. I've written about both already here and here, now I'll show you what I wore and what I drew with.

Wednesday night was an "on the way home from work" situation.
I chose the paisley shell because it has patch pockets.
That's why I took Elvis too. Well, that and Elvis has a built-in "wow" factor.

photos and "Food Fight" installation by Manny Castro

As soon as I got home, I wrote a list of supplies that I wanted to take the next day,
while my needs were still fresh in my mind:

I didn't have time to stop at an art supply store, so I "made do" with what I had on hand:

I created a figure template underlay to use as a framework to get the proportions right --
I just can't do it freehand

I put the same template into my iPad Brushes app and made a bunch of duplicates.
I ended up not using the iPad. Was happy sketching analog!

Day 2, ready to hit the I-10 to downtown -- Red Lips, people!!!

How the raw sketches look

Scanned sketch, added color in Illustrator

I'm happy with the direction these sketches are going. I like the loose "Mats Gustafson" look. [Look him up].
I've got many more to finish, and another event coming up next Thursday. WooHoo!

Checking in with Patti's Visible Monday. Click on over to see more Visibleness.