Jen Rowlands, South Wales Artist. Paintings- abstract and still life art, murals and theatre work.

Well-worn and well-loved shoes speak so eloquently of the person wearing them. A painting of those shoes can present an interesting portrait of that person, of partners, a family...

For the FAMOUS FEET exhibition, I wrote to a number of high-profile people, asking them to lend me a pair of their favourite well-worn shoes. I thought it would be interesting to do these pictures of ordinary people who had made something of their lives because of their individual talent.

The shoe paintings are both figurative and abstract for me – the overall strength of the design is of chief importance, but with the added bonus of being both a sort of still life and a portrait. Because the shoes I paint are well-used and lived-in, it’s possible to get a feel of the person who wears them – and if there is more than one pair in the picture, you can present a snapshot of their wearers’ relationship - husband and wife? friends or business partners? or a whole board of directors?