These are the Back to School shoes that I painted for my nephew who picked out his own shoes online this year, but when they came in the mail he decided he didn't like the color and, since they were non returnable, he asked if I could "just paint them black." Nope. I couldn't :).
If you don't recognize the design, it's based on the book series Michael Vey by Richard Paul Evans. You can learn more about it here. My 11 year old nephew has gotten really into the series and has read all 4 books just since school started 5 weeks ago (they are not small books either). This is the first thing that has sparked an interest in reading and has turned him into an avid reader. He now can't get enough which I'm super thrilled about.
To paint the shoes I first took this before picture :)
Then used painters tape to cover anything I didn't want painted. Since the shoes were canvas, I just treated them like canvas and first primed them with two coats of gesso. I thinned down the gesso with a product that I bought from a local art store to convert any acrylic paint into a fabric paint that can then be heat set for durability. (I was worried about the shoes getting too stiff so I just started making up my own rules about what could get mixed with what in order to maintain flexibility). Once the primer was dry I transferred my drawings onto the shoes.
I then mixed 1:1 fabric paint enhancer in with my regular acrylics and painted the shoes like I would any canvas. When I was done, I let them dry overnight, then used a hair dryer to heat set the paint for about 20 minutes. I thought the results turned out pretty well, but I'll have to get back to you at the end of the school year to report on the wear and tear of this project.
Here are some pictures of the shoes being initiated at the park:
I think he likes them!
