A New Kind of Canvas: Shoes Were Made for Painting!

Have you wanted to try painting on a completely new kind of canvas? Well, here are some awesome shoe painting ideas! Venturing into a new art medium is often exciting and sometimes a little unconventional. The painting of canvas shoes has really taken off in the past few years, with different shoe painting ideas popping up all over the internet. On the one hand, painting on flat surfaces can get boring after a while and on the other, customizable shoes are so expensive nowadays. So why not solve both problems and paint on your own shoes?!

Tips for First-Time Shoe Painters

Pick out a pair of canvas shoes; new, old, clean, stained, it doesn’t truly matter. You’ll be painting over everything anyway! But do keep in mind the surface area that you will be working with. Shoes like slip-on Vans™ or Tom’s™ will have more area to paint than a pair like Keds™. Once you have your shoes, decide on what design you want to paint. You can find inspiration all over the internet, but we’ve put together a few examples of ideas that you might like!

Once you’ve decided on your design, start by sketching it out on a piece of paper so you can adjust it before you put it on your shoes. Then use a graphite pencil to sketch your design onto the shoes themselves. Now it’s time to paint! We recommend using acrylic paints for canvas shoes, as they adhere to the material more readily. In fact, we’ve had great results with Golden High Flow Acrylic Paints. You can find them here on our product page!

While you’re painting, just take your time. Painting on a 3-dimensional canvas can take some getting used to. Don’t worry if you don’t like how a section turned out; you can just paint over it! That’s the beauty of acrylic paints. When you are completely happy with your design, allow the shoes to fully dry. This should take a few hours. The last step is to seal and waterproof the shoes. We’ve found that Golden Soft Gel Medium Sealant Spray in Semi-Gloss is a great option for this. Once the sealant is dry, you’re all set! You can head out into the world in a brand-new custom pair of shoes!

Van Gogh Shoe Painting Idea

Are you looking for a shoe painting idea with a little whimsy? Well, here is a design inspired by the great post-impressionist, Vincent van Gogh! This is a step-by-step guide to painting your shoes, modeled after van Gogh’s painting of Almond Blossoms.

Vincent van Gogh painted one of his most famous pieces, Almond Blossom, in 1890 as a gift for his brother and sister-in-law as they welcomed a new baby boy into the world. He took inspiration from the French countryside while he stayed at a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in France, and modeled the style and structure of the painting after Japanese printmaking.

The Almond Blossoms are often depicted in both blue and red variations, though van Gogh only actually painted the trees in blue. We couldn’t decide between the red and the blue shoe painting ideas, so we decided to do both!

Here is what you’ll need for this project:

• White Canvas Shoes
• Golden High Flow Acrylic Paints
  • Teal
  • Cerulean Blue Hue
  • Transparent Dioxazine Purple
  •  Diarylide Yellow
  • Transparent Naphthol Red Light
  • Titanium White
  • Carbon Black
• Mixing Palette
• Medium Brushes for Backgrounds
• Small Brushes for Details
• Graphite Pencil
• Golden Soft Gel Medium Sealant Spray in Semi-Gloss

You can use any style of white canvas shoes for this project. We found this pair at a thrift store! Begin by sketching out the design of the branches and the blossoms on each shoe. Make sure the design of the shoes complements each other. Keep the branches relatively the same size on each side. They may have different color schemes, but they are still one set of shoes! Squeeze a small amount of each color onto a palette. The tone will dim slightly when painted onto the shoe, but the color will maintain its vibrance.

Let’s start with the blue shoe. Mix the blue paints together to create a teal shade, and paint the entire background of one of the shoes. Be sure to avoid areas designated for branches and blossoms. Then add depth to the teal background by mixing together the blue and purple. The branches are the trickiest part of this design because of the colored highlights and shadows. Create a green, brown, and peach tone, and layer these three shades together until you are happy with how the branches look. Start with the darkest color and build up the texture with the lighter highlight shades. Use a pale yellow shade for the flowers. Finish off the blue shoe by adding some details and finer definition with black.

Now, on to the red shoe. Start by painting the entire outside of the remaining shoe in red. Since this particular red paint is partially transparent, there is no need to avoid the areas designated for the branches and blossoms as the graphite lines will be visible through the paint. Mix a very small amount of black into the red shade and add some dimension and shading to the background. Then for the branch color, mix all six paint colors together to create a dark brown. Create a blue and orange highlight color and finish the branches by again layering the shades for a textured look. Use the same pale yellow shade for the flowers. And as the final step in the painting, add details and dimension with fine lines of black.

Once the shoes are fully painted, set them side by side and compare them. You may want to make minor adjustments so that they match each other more closely. Perhaps darken or lighten some shades or add a little more definition in certain places. Then wait for both shoes to dry completely. Seal and weatherproof each shoe with two coats of Golden Soft Gel Medium Sealant in Semi-Gloss. This gel is the perfect consistency to seal this project because it keeps the canvas very flexible, even when dry.

Now lace up both shoes, sit back, and admire your work! You can now walk around with two custom pieces of artwork on your feet! How fun! Since the shoes are fully sealed, they are protected against fading and scuffing. They are relatively waterproof, but just in case, we wouldn’t recommend jumping through puddles while you’re wearing them so you can admire your work for longer!

Golden High Flow Acrylic Paints: https://www.cheapjoes.com/catalog/product/view/id/32471/s/golden-high-flow-acrylic-sets/