Art-a-Day Challenge. DAY 1

Today's challenge was an old pair of shoes. Now, I have quite a few pairs lying on the rack and in the basket under my bed, bu which one should I choose? 

In my mind's eye I sorted through the various pairs and finally zeroed in on this one....black suede with shiny, gold heels. 

I've always had a fancy for high heels, even though I've had really twiggy, long legs all through my growing years. When I caught sight of these peep-toes standing on d shelf at a mall, I was drawn to them like Pooh to honey. At that moment, I had no need for a new pair especially one with heels that glitzy & high, but I walked out of the store with the shoes tucked under my arm.  

Have worn them only twice since, but considering I purchased them about a year (or two) ago, I guess they qualify as 'an old pair'. Placing them on the a stool, I began to deal with the first challenge of the Art-a-Day activity......something to ensure I'm fruitfully busy.

For this little sketch, I made use of a water-brush and my box of Pelican watercolors. painting the black area wasn't as big a challenge as painting the heel. I've never really painted any metal objects and they do make me quite jittery as I'm not sure what colours to mix to get the metallic-look just right. It's all trial & error with me, really. Anyway, for the gold, I tried mixing Burnt Sienna, Ochre Yellow, a touch of Lemon Yellow & a dash of Raw Umber. Stuck to a mix of Raw Sienna & Ultramarine Blue for the shadows. 

Took me about an hour from the time I got out my painting materials until I put down the brush. And here's the fruit of my labour..........

Challenge 1 ..... An old pair of shoes - Completed!