Painting in the Details

"First Shoes" - 6"x6" acrylic on canvas "First Shoes" is my latest small painting, and one of my pieces currently in an Austin gallery group show that runs through January 5, 2020. When I was dropping off my paintings for the show, a couple of people asked me, "Why shoes?" It's not the first time I've been asked, so I thought it would be a good topic to address in a blog post. My shoe portraits are less about the shoes themselves and more about the wearer of the shoes - or, more accurately, the memories, sentiments and stories tied to the owners of the shoes. Perhaps they were the pair a child took their first steps in, or a child's favorite pair they insisted on wearing daily until they no longer fit or were worn through. Maybe they are a pair that represent something their owner is passionate about - dance, athletics, fashion. Perhaps they are connected to a profession such as service in the military. They could be assoc