Red Wings
Posted: March 7, 2021 Filed under: Uncategorized 13 CommentsI’ve been admiring the patina on these boots all week. And their position on the floor. I have a feeling they were removed and left there, casually discarded, yet they seem ready to go at any moment. Just waiting for the feet that will take them somewhere. Sketched in an Etchr Perfect Sketchbook, using mostly Burnt Sienna, Carbazole Violet and Prussian Blue.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
shoes!! I was expecting (red-wing) blackbirds!
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I love the colour palette for these. Curious as to whether this is hot press or cold press paper as I have the cold press on and find the paper quite textured, although it holds a lot of watery layers very well. I’m assuming this one is watercolour or is it actually gouache?
Peri
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Hi Peri, This is the cold press book. I have the hot press as well, but I use it more for gouache. Love the smooth finish for gouache but not as much for pure watercolour. I love the CP book because it really is liking working on a sheet of good quality watercolour paper.
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I confess, when I read the subject line I thought, “Oh, Shari must have Red Winged Blackbirds in the yard!”
Yes, these boots do look ready to take off. You’ve conveyed their volume and character beautifully.
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Hi Alison, I love Red Winged Blackbirds but I don’t even have them here in summer. I am not close enough to the water for that. I had to make do with the boots!
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I also wondered if this is gouache or watercolor. Either way, great boots. Like the color.It is a rich combination.
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Thanks so much Judy. Yes, this is watercolour, although can see why you thought it might be gouache. I was using a very dark palette and heavy brushstrokes! To tell you the truth, I had to sit in a dark bathroom to paint this so I couldn’t see very well. You might wonder why I didn’t turn on the light, right? The light is attached to a very noisy fan and I didn’t want to disturb my husband who was working in the next room. So a long story for why the colour is dark!!
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I hardly ever comment, but look forward to receiving your work every day. Your are such a wonderful artist. The comment you left about the shoes touched my heart. Wish I could paint like you.
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Carol, thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it!
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Great, super cool painting! Deep contrast. Always look forward to your watercolor paintings!
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Good Evening dear friend Shari,
It is really a wonderful experience for me. This sketch brought my past Industrial career as a sweet memory.
Our company used to supply Red Wings Industrial safety shoes with a steel cap stitched inside. I don’t have a count of how many pairs of Redwing safety shoes during my job with the Oil exploration Organization.
And at present still, I have one pair kept as a memento, after my retirement, 15 years ago,
Looking at them, I get every movement in that Industry on my mental screen.
Tears roll down from my eyes thinking about my wonderful past.
Thanks for this beautiful sketch.
You remember or not, once I wrote about one of our great poets, who said, ” Anything in this world is worth a subject to write poetry”.
And you proved ” Anything in this world is worth a subject for painting”
Regards and blessings
Yours’s the sincerely admiring friend
Uma
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Uma, what a thoughtful response to my sketch. I’m really glad it brought back wonderful memories for you. And of course I remember that quote from one of your great poets. It is still wonderful to read. After you wrote, I went back to the Red Wing Shoe website to read some of their history. I’m glad to hear that you kept one pair of boots!! With thanks, Shari
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Good Evening dear friend Shari,
Yes, I really went back to my past seeing your sketch.
In fact, your sketch made me walk to my cupboard and look at those pair of shoes, touched them, a nice feeling, the most valuable property of my life.
I kept them in a cupboard filled with items like this, which have a past history.
I am telling the truth, your sketch has more impact on my mind with thrilling feeling than those originals, I have with.
Now your sketch has enhanced and renewed my respect and honor for those shoes. I have saved this image in my personal folder.
These Redwings are very popular and famous worldwide. Their items are exchangeable anywhere around the globe at their centers within a stipulated period. They have a wide range of shoes in the ladies’ wing too.
The cost of your sketch is my happiness, which can not be counted, weighed are measured.
Regards and blessings
Yours’s the sincerely admiring friend
Uma
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