I know you’re going to look at this picture and think that I’m going to write about severed heads, blood, death, or any number of things like that.

That’s a fair assumption. Even I have questions about this painting.

What’s in the bag? That’s my first question. Then, I guess, I’m curious how those heads ended up there. And are they happy to be there or not?

Anyway…

Something I love about this picture are the shoes. Yellow, high-heeled, platform pumps.

You might not know it, but I love shoes. I poke fun at my partner because of her shoe collection sometimes, but if we were taking a moment to be honest: I picked out and gifted many of those shoes. This is something shoes marketed for women have an advantage in – they tend to be colorful, come in lots of different shapes and styles, and have purpose.

Little works of art, really.

These yellow shoes? I could never have them. First off, my skin is much too pale to rock yellow. Unless it’s deep summer, then maybe. Second, I’m much too tall to wear heels of any size. Towering over people would be fun, but running into the tops of door frames? Not so much.

I guess gender roles might dictate that I can’t wear those heels either. But I don’t believe in that. You should wear what you want, regardless of gender, whatever makes you happy. Just be you.

That’s why I like drawing these types of pictures and characters like this one. I don’t need a bunch of drawings of people that look like me, I see myself in the mirror every day. What I need to see are characters living their lives however they want. Wearing whatever shoes they want.

Because, why not?

It’s just a pair of shoes.