Portraits in Family Shoes

What does a shoe say about the wearer?

Could your family be represented by drawing their shoes?

What arrangement of shoes would best depict your family?

Journal Exercise: Listing Exercise

In your journal you will create several lists to help you start this project. On the top of the page and going across it list

your family members. These will serve as column headings. If your family does not easily fit across the page turn so you

can make your list in landscape mode. Under each person list their shoes. Underneath, I have started a list for my

family. Start your list with shoes you see the person wearing the most, or that you think are particular favorites of the

family member who wears them. You need not list every pair of shoes that family member owns (especially if the

person owns 50 pairs of shoes), but try to list all of the shoes they wear often. You may then want to circle shoes you

think are particularly emblematic for each family member. Shoes that really show their personality or role in the family.

Mom

Dad Heather Meghan Meredith Erin Tracy Cashell Allison

Black Gowalks

Beat up lawn mowing tennis shoes

Taryn Black Wedge Sandals

Gold Platform Korks Sandals

Red Patent Kitty Heels

Dockers Brown Boat Shoes

Blue Clarks mules

Brown Loafers

Ryka lime green and grey sandals

Mule wedge loafer

Black Platform Flip Flops

Tan Suede flip-flop

Coral leather flip flops with cut out flowers

Slide on black Cole Haan Loafer

Surgery Clogs Teva sandals

Royal blue suede ballet flats Black Mary Jane

Black platform flip-flops with pink embroidered flowers and border

Doc Martins

White leather flip flop with gold connecting ring

Cordovan lace up dress shoes

Brown Clarks Sandals

Red gladiator sandals with short wedge

Nude leather peep toe tall wedge sandals

Teal Crocs ballet flat Super-tall wedge leather bootie mules

Brown woven fiber flip flop

Thumbnails:

Explore Layout options by doing small drawings of possible compositions. This is called “Thumbnailing”. Sometimes – if

the little drawing is a quite detailed the drawing might be called a “rough” or rough draft.

Thumbnails should explore a variety of layouts with which to depict the relationships in your family and personality

family members using shoes. You may want to review the many photos and paintings of family shoes found in this

handout for ideas. Thumbnails should always be sufficiently detailed to get a

clear idea of the layout and look of the final drawing. The thumbnails on the

top left are all done to plan a still life painting of one bowl of onions. You

should do at least 4 sketches to develop your own ideas for your family

portrait using shoes. You may want to arrange shoes and draw them in a

variety of ways for your layout sketches. Decide if shoes will be by

themselves or on the members of your family. Do not draw from memory.

Draw looking at the objects or from photos you take. Always place the

containing rectangle that depicts the edge of the paper or canvas around your

thumbnail or rough- otherwise your layout will not be clear. The edge

rectangle can be placed in from the beginning as in the example sketchbook

pages above or placed in a sketch after as in the example to the left.

Family Shoe Portrait:

Choose your most exciting composition from your thumbnails

and create your own “Portrait in Shoes” for your family.

Before completing your final you may wish to read the

following article about drawing correctly from observation:

http://www.studentartguide.com/articles/realistic-

observational-drawings).

Choose what you consider your strongest medium (drawing or

painting material) and create your portrait. Portraits should

be at least 11” x 14”. No outline drawings. The shoes need to

be shaded in color or black and white.

This is work for a Pre-AP class. All work should

demonstrate the idea that you are an advanced

student! These are appropriate examples.