So, shoes are some of my favorite things. I enjoy having shoes that are different and are something that will express my personality. I've even done some personalizing to a few of my shoes and I wanted to show them to you!

These are a pair of Nine West boots that I bought from Goodwill for $3 and then added my personal touch.

These are my Toms I received this past Christmas. Tom's is a great company that started a "One for One" movement, for each pair of shoes sold the company gives a pair to child in need. This pair was my third pair of Toms that I chose to personalize with my own art work. I'm passionate about other things besides my art and shoes. I've visited the country of Nicaragua four times and have grown to love it as a second home. The images I've chosen for my Toms reflect Nicaragua. I have painted the national bird, the guardabarranco, and an iguana. I've also painted the verse "In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:10. The composition of these images express where my heart is and gave me a great looking pair of shoes :)

This pair of shoes doesn't have a cool story. I just LOVE heels and wanted to personalize a pair. Sadly, I haven't had an occasion to wear these yet but I do love the fun lines!

This is another pair of Toms I did for a friend. He requested I incorporate his favorite color (green), ultimate frisbee, soccer, The Cardinals baseball team, and Job 40:4-5. So, all of that I combined in to this unique pair of Toms! Hope you like them Boone!!

Painting on shoes is something I really enjoy. It is a unique canvas that allows me to express myself in a different way than paper. Trying to combine different elements along the contours of a shoe can create a really elegant piece of art. Not to mention shoes are seen by a lot more people than a piece of art on the wall!

If you know me personally then you know that when I am working on an art project I am pretty messy. I think every clothing article I own has a paint stain on it. When I work I tend to not care about where I wipe my hands or my brush and I usually end up with paint, marker, charcoal or whatever it is I am working with covering my hands and usually have marks all the way up to my elbows. (Sometimes I even find strands of hair covered in paint.) So, I wanted to share some of the projects that get me the messiest. Charcoal is a medium I really enjoy. For whatever reason I always start out loathing the project but once I get started I enjoy being able to use my fingers to create the texture and depth of the objects. This dry medium is fun and though it starts off intimidating once I get started I often realize how forgiving it is. Being able to smudge any unnecessary mark away is always satisfying. Anyway, as you can tell I enjoy charcoal :) So, I hope you enjoy looking at some of my favorite pieces!

JB (my older brother) in beast mode :)

I know I shared this before but I just REALLY love this one.

Still life

Spooky playground

Popcorn Narrative

Ok, I know this isn't charcoal. This is dry pastels and they are used pretty much the same way. I still get to use my fingers to smudge around the color!