Abstract Shoe Design

In this assignment, my class and I were asked to take the three views of a shoe, and pick one part that was specifically interesting. I choose the lasses part of the overhead view of the shoe. I then took a view finder and drew this part, then repeated that process twice more with each new drawing. Next I choose the drawing that i found has the most potentially to create a detailed piece of art, that drawing happened to be my first one. With this drawing, we were asked to create something abstract, is could be anything. I decided to go with a tropical theme, that could be inferred to be the shoreline of Hawaii. To create this, I used watercolor masking fluid to create reef like designs in the mountains, and a Hawaiian like flower as the sun. After painting in this watercolor masking fluid, I added watercolor of all colors to match the subject; green for the mountain, blue for the sea and sky, beige for the beach, and pick for the sun.

The goal of this piece was to create something that was captivating to the eye. To achieve this, I added the masking fluid, because it seemed like something new, and different, and I simply wanted to experiment with this new medium. I wanted to add a flower instead of the sun to create a sense of unity, to match the Hawaiian theme. I always knew that the drawing reminded me of mountains, but I had trouble thinking of ideas that would not be to simple or realistic, that is when I decided to use masking tape to make the piece more interesting. The masking tape created unity within the piece when I used it everywhere to make sure that every thing or object had something in common.

I wanted this piece to show relaxation and a sense of calm. The masking tape lines can rarely be seen with sharp edges, and all of the colors are of a lighter value that is to ensure that this piece stays with the calm and relaxing vibe. Each piece represents something in Hawaii: the mountains, the flower as the sun, the beach and waves, each of these objects (to me) signifies peace. I am most proud of being able to work with a new medium. However, working with a new medium brings struggles as well. In some areas of the painting, one can find ripped places, that if from not knowing when to peel off the masking fluid. By reason that I did not know when to peel off the fluid, I took it off too early, thereby leading to some unwanted rips, and grainy texture. I wish in the future that I did not use a leaf-like design in the left mountain. To fix this in the future, I could plan out my piece more carefully.