If you follow me on Twitter, you already know how much I love Eyvind Earle. At a time when the Walt Disney Studios could have simply hit autopilot, Eyvind Earle produced some gorgeous postmodern-esque concept paintings that revolutionized the term "visual development". Earle's work is the conclusion to the saga of art's role in animation. His lush, Louvre-worthy paintings realized the potential of what the animation medium was capable of.
When I watch Sleeping Beauty, I internalize it differently than other Disney films. More than any other animated feature of the era, it has a sense of place. Despite its highly-stylized interpretation of nature and architecture, you believe that Eyvind Earle's world is a real one. That's no easy feat.
One look around my office and my love for Eyvind Earle becomes apparent. His artwork can be found on my walls (a couple originals), my bookshelf, and even my computer desktop. So it shouldn't be a surprise when I say that I now own a pair of Eyvind Earle
shoes. Yep. An Eyvind Earle wearable.
I teamed up with a talented painter and friend to help depict a few Sleeping Beauty concept paintings on a pair of white canvas Vans. We wanted the shoes to be as detailed as possible. Together, we spent over 30 hours making them look perfect.
I can't take all the credit for these, so I don't feel self conscious to say that I'm insanely proud to own them. They turned out even better than I imagined. I plan on actually wearing these around, so if you see these kicks around Magic Kingdom or the like, feel free to say hi!
