A shoe-in

I've been unhappy with the Stiletto painting, mostly because I felt the joie de vivre factor was lacking. After due deliberation, I decided it needed more shoes.

Daughter kindly brought over the props - two laundry baskets heaped full of her shoes.
It took three days of lining up shoes and taking photographs to get it right. It worked out that the only step that was long enough to mimic the step in the church also required me to stand in the thorny embrace of a ginormous climbing rose and lean to the left.
The shoe set up changed in form and content many, many times. The sun went down. The sun came out and splotched the step. The camera battery died. The printer choked. I prevailed.

I painted the shoe lineup this morning. Nearest to farthest it's purple suede sandals, peeptoe leopard print ankle boots, patent leather kitten-heeled sling backs, and a pair of stiletto heeled peep toe shoes that mimic a tuxedo shirt with a bow tie. They are just started - the ankle boots need their leopard print, and there are buckles and rivets and shadows yet to come, but you'll get the idea.


I am so so much happier. I went from feeling defeated to positively hopeful. I not only like the way this is true to my daughter's shoe-coveting heart, but the idea of all the barefoot women running on the stone floors of the church. I wonder who the patron saint of shoes is?