Katie’s Shoes
A portrait of a perfect day.. and a simply gorgeous pair of heels!
This shoe portrait captures the history of a romance and memories of a very special wedding day.
Layered with hidden meanings and references to places and people, collaged details evoke the venue on the Amalfi coast, the first dance, local flowers and the local food.
The painting will be iconic and bold, bright and decorative, fun yet elegant and embellished with gold and silver leaf.
wedding plan
lemons
cider label
pizza recipe
map of Amalfi coast
Sketch
Design and ideas behind the composition.
The flowers are local flowers Bougainvillea, hanging as a wall of deep pinks and fresh greens, elegant and bright.
These flowers are everywhere, iconic symbol of this coast as it thrives here and complements the blue of the sea perfectly.
The shoes will be gold, with details collaged within the jewels and labels.
The line along the bottom is the waves on the shore
Palette..
Bright pinks and reds, touches of green against a blue backdrop of sea and sky.
The patterns will be abstract and not referencing an actual scene, rather capturing the essence of the place through colour and brushstroke. Hidden elements may include..
Option: Shells
The image is a detail from one of my paintings and illustrates how the text from invitations and other fragments could be collaged within the piece.
The client decided not to go for this so we decided to use the text in the waves on the sand instead
Collage
The fragments here are suggested for the collage within leaves and flowers in the background..
The stamps are from relevant places Italy, where the wedding took place and Hong Kong, where Steve proposed.
The regatta stamp is included as the wedding took place on the first day of Henley Royal Regatta 2017, this will be a hidden detail as its less important to the story.
In addition I have the music score for ‘Don’t stop Believin’ the original version by Journey which was the first dance.
Baroque is the style that defines this area of Italy, Although the cient chose not to use the etchings here, the tiny lines and dots may come into play when defining the leaves and petals
Flowers
Visual effect to be petals underfoot, decadent wallpaper but with the idea of growing plants and flowers.
Sea/ water element a few swirls and wavelets.. subtle reference to ‘walking on water ( Katie is a bit of a goddess..)
Music creates a backdrop.. a structure running through the piece
Leaves and flowers are expressive.
Text is taken from the local info booklet
Baroque style of decadent art that defines the Amalfi coast and fits perfectly with the scale and style of the shoes!
Katie’s friend’s poem in her handwriting:
On this day full of love and laughter,
Sharing joy in the Italian sun,
Memories that will last a lifetime...
A new chapter of life has begun.
Also including Villa Eva menu!
Narrative:
Water is referenced by the blue in the background and the pattern inside the shoes…
Essentially dark blue to aqua at the top.. a few bubbles subtly as if tiny waves lapping.
If Katie was wearing the shoes she would be looking at the horizon, which fits with the poem and the moment in time ( looking towards the horizon/future)
The swirls reference moonlight on the sea at midnight.. the end of the wedding day. It also connects the dark greys of the text and adds structure to the shoes.
The painting of the actual piece begins.. images show the work in progress:
Final piece
Soo.. following our chat yesterday.. Ive ‘pinked it up’ a bit and added the last layer of gold. The greys are knocked back and touches of gold in the flowers to connect the design… also crisped up the left shoe as you see it.
The labels are a base clef and treble clef.. simple symbols with staves that represent the perfect backdrop to a balanced piece of music.. and indeed a wonderful marriage.
