I Have Too Many Shoes

Shoes can say a lot about a person.

My wife and I moved to New York City recently from Provo, a small college town in northern Utah. While we were getting things packed I made this startling observation:

I have too many shoes.

It was a bit frightening, to be honest. I had always considered myself a man of simple needs—pragmatic, yet not too aloof to maintain a well-groomed and clean appearance. I used to believe that a man need only one sturdy pair of shoes, maybe a pair of sandals too, until those shoes wore out; then it would be on to the next modest, simple pair.

But there, before my eyes, was tactile proof that I was no longer that man: I was a hoarder. A materialist. I had upwards of fifteen pairs of shoes. Fifteen. I felt pangs of remorse—not so much for the discovery as for the feeling I had for my shoes. I liked having lots of shoes. I thought it was fantastic. I could wear this pair with these pants, and this pair with these other pants. The combinations were endless.

I got rid of a few of those pairs. You know the ones. They kind of hang out in the back of your closet because they’re too old and worn to wear out anymore, but you still kind of like them because they’re just the perfect fit and you never know when you might…

There I go again. A sentimentalist, too. 

Anyway. So we moved here and I find myself rotating an average of four pairs of shoes through my regular wardrobe. But still, I have more sitting in my wardrobe. And I don’t want to get rid of them.

So what do my shoes say about me? I don’t know. I guess some of my priorities have changed. But is that such a bad thing, really? Again, I don’t know. But one thing I do know: I like my shoes. So I’m going to draw them.

The Future

I Will Judge These Books By Their Covers

Are you kidding me? How awesome are these? I love the combination of classic typography with these sort of naïve illustrations. Perfect. Way to go, Pentagram. You’ve done it again.

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Wall Art From Feira de Santana, Brazil.

These pictures are a couple of years old, and the artwork itself even older, but it’s all still remarkably fresh. At the bus station in a Brazilian town called Feira de Santana, there’s an entire wall full of eclectic paintings and typography—a collage of the region’s history and art culture. It’s really incredible.

iPad Sketchbook

Yes, I have an iPad. It was an early birthday present from an all too generous family (thank you Mom).

I bought a super awesome app called SketchBook Pro, which has taken some getting used to, though I’m finally starting to get it.

This was a little sketch done in church last week. The trick is, figuring out which preset brush options offer the best blending for color and value. There were some “marker” presets that seemed to do the trick.

Bern Hill.

I just had a friend, Randy Bangerter, tip me off to a fantastic illustrator from the 50s named Bern Hill. Such incredible compositions—in aspects of both design and color. You can almost taste the suspense and sense of action he creates with those striking diagonals. Awesome.

So my wife, Megan, came the other day with a number of old books she had picked up from a thrift store. One of them was this fantastic little book called Simon, by Molly Cone. I say fantastic not because I’ve read a word, but because of these awesome illustrations by Marvin Friedman.

I had never heard of Mr. Friedman until I saw this book, but man I wish I had. Just check out those pictures! The line quality is superb and his compositions are simple yet exciting. I can’t get enough of these.

You can see more of his work on this great flikr set here. Awesome!

Here’s a sketch I did at church a few months back, a-la Brad Holland.

Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come.

— Michelangelo Buonarroti