THREE PAIR OF SHOES

We're in mid-February, and already there have been at least 48 mass shootings in the United States, with 81 killed and 165 wounded.  Where is our beloved Land of the Free?  No longer are we free to attend gatherings, go to our local stores, walk the streets or drive our cars without the fear of someone randomly shooting us?  Our babies and our teachers are not free to go to school, without needing to learn drills for when a shooter may bust through the doors.  

This time the sports venue was attacked.  We're still waiting to hear the motive(s) for killing two and wounding some 22.  Only a few days ago a shooter attacked one of the mega churches.  Wonder what the human race looks like from the sky.  An ant colony has more class and respect for one another than we do.  Such a beautiful world, and we're staining it with our own blood.  

Maybe that's why I enjoy undertaking projects.  One must find a way to channel one's mind on paths of peace.  Where better than to look deeply and closely at an artist's individual technique and the story the artist conveys.  I have a favorite writer, too.  Those who have followed my blogs for all the years know it is Henry David Thoreau.  He and Van Gogh have influenced the way I think.  The central theme to both of their lives is simplicity.  The business of constantly needing more worldly stuff to satisfy one's soul is as far from my thinking as the moon.  

Studying one artist is a simple approach to the world of art.  I'm not thrilled by abstracts or fancy paintings of perfection.  No, I'm drawn more to a venue that lets us see the heartbeat of a peasant person, someone who toiled, struggled and was grateful for a supper of potatoes and a cup of tea.  My soul yearns for a simple life, smothered with the creative works of brilliant souls who found life's abundance in the common and the cobbled together.  After all, who among us isn't common and cobbled together?  Which brings me to today's masterpiece.......

 

Three Pairs of Shoes - 1886

Van Gogh painted five paintings of shoes.  "Three Pairs of Shoes" is the most popular among the five.  He painted these shoes over a vase of flowers already painted on the same canvas. 

He places three pairs of shoes in a diagonal line, the third shoe from the foreground is turned upside down.  By doing this, he cuts the sense of monotony.  Each shoe has its own weathered character, like the people who wore them.  If you look closely at the underside of the one shoe, you'll see hobnails and a hole worn through the sole.  He uses bold brush strokes to convey the condition of the shoes and texture of the white cloth they're sitting on.  Note the monotones, setting a tone of hardship and personal suffering.🖌  

Both Thoreau and Van Gogh left inspiration for us.  Thoreau used a pen....Van Gogh a paintbrush.  Each one of us has our own way of leaving behind proof that we were here.