Mermaid Jane

Jane Aldridge and her Sea of (Fish) Shoes

Color Rough

Pencil Rough

Concept Thumbnails

I owe the lovely Miss Jane Aldridge from Sea of Shoes a BIG thank-you. On September 28th, 2010 she called out to her readers for their artistic interpretations of their favorite Spring 2011 look. When I read this, my heart stopped. I submitted my entry on October 2nd and within hours my blog jumped from obscurity to the number one up-and-coming art blog on bloglovin. Surely this is a testimony to just how influential Madam Aldridge is. Later that week, when the brilliant Bil Donovan asked us to choose our favorite style icon for a conceptual portrait project, naturally I chose Jane.

Capturing Jane in a conceptual portrait proved to be no easy feat!! For one, some of the most incredible illustrators have already drawn her ie. Danny Roberts of Igor & Andre. I just really wanted to do something different. My first thought was to turn Jane into a shoe. After several attempts (as my classmates will attest) the shoe idea was just not coming together. Alas it was put to rest. I decided instead to explore the concept of Jane as a mermaid with her own sea of (fish) shoes. She has such a fresh, ethereal quality to her that lent itself perfectly to an underwater mermaid theme.

Nearly two months of preparation, ten color roughs, and one nervously painted final later, I'm relieved to say it's finished. More than anything I hope it stands as a token of my deepest gratitude to Jane. 5,200 people have viewed my entry to date and there is no telling the opportunities that can come from said exposure. I think it takes someone of amazing character to offer their readers a platform such as this. Jane, if you're reading, thank-you again for giving your readers such a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents. I just really hope you like it. Enjoy!!

P.S. Just heard from her and she was thrilled!! Yay so happy to hear :)