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Monday, December 27, 2010

Year End Review: A Fetish with Potential

An attraction for shoes showed up repeatedly throughout the my first year of blogging revealing an obvious fetish for the subject.

Reviewing all the drawings,(displayed earliest to latest), it's also obvious that I prefer sporty, comfort shoes. There's only one pair in the bunch that looks like I might wear skirts occasionally. It's misleading. Jeans and a shirt are me. Which one does not belong in this group?








The best drawing is of my snow boots. The rest are still-lifes that have been set up. The boots are drawn flat out, no frills for a no frill item.

The worst drawing is the unfinished drawing of my water aerobics shoes. Though the laces fascinated me,I got bored with the tedium of drawing them-- and, for that matter, with the water aerobics class I bought them for. When I'm in the water I have to swim, be submerged. Jumping around a lot is only great when playing water volley ball.



The photographs of my black patten tuxedo-like dress sport shoes and my white patten flip-flops are pretty cool; they stand on their own as photographs. All black or all white subjects are very difficult to both photograph and draw. The project is more about lighting and the color of it than anything else. To turn these photographs into drawings, would have taken more than a few minutes, more than a day.




What did I learn from doing these drawings? Shoes are fun--but I'm frowning at having set them up in pretty, unrealistic still-lifes. On their own, like the boots, they tell you something about the artist. How could shoes tell us more? More of them lined up in a row and chosen at random perhaps? The painting would be autobiographical,a more revealing portrait of the wearer. --I like the idea.

Finding oneself as a painter takes looking closely at the work that's been done. That's my mission this week so that come the new year, I'll know better how and on what to spend my time. In 2010, I followed whims, the object was to draw regularly. In 2011, I'd like to see more focus in my work.

8 comments:

  1. For me, all of those could be used..Its all in the attitude that u have when u wear them...

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  2. I am a gal with attitude--no matter what shoes I'm wearing.

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  3. It's great fun to look at your shoes like this. Ummm, a certain kind of attitude does come through! I'll be curious to read what you think you'll focus on.

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  4. Dear Linda,
    Very good post, full of food of thoughts. Yes, I, too, like your idea that shoes imply a wearer's who's who. Oh, this year, it was fun that you and I showed the "similar boots" on blogs. Let us enjoy making lots of paintings, drawings, jokes and interesting chats.
    Linda, it is you. You are the most positive lady who beat cancer.
    Hip, hip, hurray, hurray, Linda, 2011.
    Love and smile, Sadami

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  5. Peggy, I'm a bit curious too to see if I can focus. I've been not focused for so long and having fun, can I give that up? Focus is an interesting topic when it comes to making art.

    Evelyn, Happy New Year to you too. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your beautiful paintings. The last two acrylics have really been knock-outs.

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  6. Sadami, you're very kind. As much as I'd like to think I beat cancer, I don't think I've beat it yet. I've got three more years to go. But once you've had a cancer, I don't think you ever rest easy. It's a blow. But,as you know, art--self expression,helps heal and lifts spirits high for the maker, more than the viewer.

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