What Do You See?

I think your composition takes away from the sock doll antics. Where's the playful quality of these characters? It does NOT look like a black family.

He wanted them to be portrait like and each have characteristics of each family member, I don't think he is looking for sock dolls playing around, his sister loves sock monkeys also , I appreciate that you don't see them being black, I was hoping they would just be neutral. But when my daughter said it a few days ago it just stuck in my mind.

Leah, This may be a harder project than you imagined. You don't want to kill the spontaneity you created with doing the sock doll art in the first place. I just believe you need to think further on it. It's only my opinion.

If he is happy with it that is all that matters. They are sock monkeys after all.

You know what would be funny in a future painting, is like barbie and ken family picture, like on the beach and a sock monkey photo bombs it.

i *am* seeing them as a black family and not as anything else. but that is irrelevant. important is what the judge who commissioned the work thinks, i he is happy (and he should be, it is wonderful work!) then that is all that counts.

@ Kelley, wow really? strange opinion considering I am the one that had dialogue with my client ,,I actually read people well and take lots of notes. His daughter is reading a book and will have glasses, one son is a basketball player and will be wearing a jersey of his fave team and the other son is into video games , it will all have their personalities , I really take care in my commissions

Leah, Why are you so upset, I just gave an opinion. I thought that was what you asked for. Simply ignore what I said.

I would have never thought one way or another until you mentioned it. But if its supposed to represent a family portrait perhaps lighter tones would be appropriate.

Kelley ,you said this may be a harder project than you imagined, that was strange, I actually think it's an easy project, I just might need to lighten their skin tones a bit.

Leah,

I think if the client likes the rendition, then fine. But using a dark color for the sock fabric probably emphasizes the reaction people might have of a "black family of sock puppets" and also the exaggerated red lips,seems to reinforce that feeling. Here's a Wiki page with the info on the story of the Socks and a photo of the original color of the "skin" of the sock puppet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sock_monkey

You might try a lighter "skin tone" and see if it works for you and your client. Cute idea though...........

Rich

Thanks Rich, I am glad I posted it here, I think I will need to lighten it, I will go look at your link

Dear Leah, What makes your sock doll art so terrific is the antics behind their behavior. It fits why they were even created in the first place. I'm sure you were very thorough with your client on the details, jerseys, mouse ears, etc. but as the artist it's up to you to give it life. If your client is happy, and the painting is easy for you then so be it. The portrait looks dry to me and doesn't have the hilarity of your other sock doll pieces. I've only been honest with you about what I see.

I think that itisi adorable and brilliant. I would however lighten them a bit as they do look like a black family. Great work Leah.

Thanks Phyllis, I understand Kelley, I get what you are saying more now, but he is not into funny as much as wanting a family portrait and he likes my work, and sock doll are up my alley, I love painting each one with a different character. I think I will work hard today changing the skin tones :)

Some monkey sock made with light multi pastel color yearns that gives patterns. You also have white face monkey in your collection, like " love sock" if you concern about black family look. You' ll find the way to twist it to work. I think you'll do fine because you are a fine painter Leah!

I think its all in perception. On one hand it is harmless sock puppets on the other it looks like Vaudville blackface performers. I see its innocence but I can also see how someone would pervert it to mean something else entirely.

I'm afraid my first impression was of blackface performers as well. I would definitely lighten them up some.

It's not the "black people" aspect, it's the Blackface aspect. Lightening the skin won't help, the prominently outlined lips and that particular shape are what creates the effect. Blackface was a once-loved form of vaudeville entertainment in the 19th century. The practice ended during this country's civil rights movement in the 60s and is now considered offensive because it implies a stereotyped caricature of black people.

If you type "blackface" into Google Images you'll get the picture.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Make them Argyle socks and remove all worries :-)

Real sock monkeys don't have a black line across the red heel that forms the mouth. Most of the sock monkeys in your paintings don't have that line either. I think it's the line that makes their mouths look like fat lips (blackface lips). If you took that line out and lightened their "skin" a bit, I think that would go quite far in eliminating the blackface look they have now.

Good suggestion Deborah, I will try that :), are you in Hoffman Estates? I used to live there and worked at Hoffman lanes a few decades ago

I love this painting, and I'm sure he will, too! My first impression was that of Kelley's until I realized the white clothing had not been filled in yet, so after that is done, their personalities will become more evident. Good job!!

Thanks Patricia, yes it's a work in progress and that is just canvas that hasn't been painted yet :)

I am in Hoffman Estates, Leah, and I used to bowl in leagues at Hoffman Lanes several decades ago. We probably met! As far as I know, the bowling alley is still there, though I don't get over to that side of town all that often (I'm way up in the northwest corner -- I actually tell most people I live in Barrington because it's only about 10 feet away and it sounds snootier at the snooty art shows ;-)

I love your work...but I too see a 'black family' and these blend in waaaay too much with the background...so, yes, lightening up their faces may help...and maybe lighting up the background too?

I've seen a lot of greyish colored sock monkeys, what if you used grey instead? Not only would it lighten it but changing the color would leave no room for people to interpret them as black. It would also help them stand out from the background a bit more.

Greyish was the color on the wiki reference Rich shared. Ditto on them blending into the background right now.

Also the monkey in the jar titled "Preserving childhood" kind of gave me the creeps. It looks like a dead baby preserved in a science jar. Our Museum of Science and Industry...has a collection of 24 real human embryos and fetuses. Ranging from 28 days to 38 weeks, this timeline vividly captures the amazing stages of growth and development before birth.

I have a vivid imagination so maybe its just me...

I would not have thought of that had you not brought it up. Since sock monkeys are generally "tweedy" looking, probably once you add texture using white and gray, that'll change the appearance.

A sock monkey looks like a dead baby? Really? Wow, that really is some vivid imagination you have!

A sock monkey locked into a jar where the monkey cannot survive. Just use your imagination and think what would happen if you put a monkey in a jar and tightened the lid. No oxygen. Suffocation. Death.

Robert it's a sock monkey not a real monkey, it's a toy which can live in jars :) ,by the way it's one of my best selling prints, so I guess many like the weirdness with it

It's a stuffed animal. It would never occur to me to worry that a stuffed animal might suffocate if sealed in a jar!

2 Sock Monkey's go into a bar.......:-)

I was going to pass on responding to this but you asked what I see. so...Personally I find them quite racist and quite disturbing. Speaking as a Black woman they don't look like any Black or African American people I know, but had I not read the comment I would have thought that was what was being portrayed. Dan's comment about "Black Face" should give offer a clue in the right direction. I will add that Black Face doesn't just imply a stereotyped caricature of black people.. it IS (or rather was) a stereotyped caricature of Black People and it IS considered offensive in the Black community. That's what they look like, and when you look again then perhaps they look like monkeys but only just. In my opinion lightening them up won't help either.To me will still look like Black Face or a caricature at best.

I agree the sock monkeys look a little dark and would be better w/o the line around the lips. I love "Preserving Childhood 3". There is plenty of air in that jar for a sock monkey. They dont use much.

Nicky I am sorry you find this racist and quite disturbing, I find that sad but validate you might feel that way if you are sensitive, this is nothing toward race but trying to be accurate. I am a portrait artist so if I am doing a commission, especially a whole family I better get the feeling right. Have you ever seen sock dolls in person? well they look like sock dolls . I paint white people,Asian,black any race and lots of sock dolls since it was one of my only toys as a child. Just as an example here is a painting of Prince I painted a few weeks ago in my thinking cap series. I am an artist, not making any racist statement :)

My great grandma used to make me sock dolls when I was little. Great grandpa would say, "Hey, those were my new good socks!" Good memories. Thanks Mike.

to be honest i was trying to figure out how to word this when i saw this at first, but the very first thing that popped in my mind was black face. it's those lips, too large, red and prominent. maybe if smaller and thinner it would work better. it may not be seen as much as a single, but in a row, it looks like those racist bugs bunny cartoons i used to watch (before politically correct was invented).

if the buyer likes it, then that's all that's important. but i know the real thing has those lips

https://www.google.com/search?q=monkey+sock&num=100&safe=off&client=firefox&hs=vvm&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Jzu5U_aCM-Xc8AG82IHgCw&ved=0CD0QsAQ&biw=1916&bih=849

it may be the overall darkness of the whole thing that's doing it

http://novembersunflower.com/2013/06/planet-sock-monkey/planet-sock-monkey-group-shot2/ the first image on there (it's too large to post), each has different colored lips, i don't know if that's legal in the sock monkey community, but it does break up that vaudville look.

http://www.tycollector.com/beanies/socks-kc-40954-gray.htm
and here they come in different skins. maybe you can break up the look of blackface, but adding different materials and such. something that reflects a personality of each person?


---Mike Savad

Blackface immediately comes to mind when I see this. I think either lightening the sock color or changing it to grey would help but to my eyes, the main problem is their lips. If you made them all like the sock monkey in the bottom right of your painting, or more like the monkey in "Preserving Childhood", I think it would really help.

I think many of you are right about the lips , I just didn't see it till I posted this thread and you guys brought it to my attention. So I agree, thinning them and lightening the skin tone should help a lot :)

I love your "Prince" image.

I wouldn't know a sock monkey from a clock donkey. But the first impression I got from the sock monkey family was....um....not good...Maybe because my wife worked in Civil Rights I am more sensitive to the race issue. Why take that chance of being mislabeled as an artist. By the way, I am a fan of yours and love your work.

This is a commissioned piece Robert, and her client wants his family to be a sock monkey portrait.

I am sure Leah is sensitive to racial labels. I look at it this way, her daughter caught it, Leah asked it, and now she is going to do something about the monkeys.

Sock monkeys are just sock monkeys.

Thanks Sydne, yes I will fix things so it will be innocent sock dolls once I am done, now that I see the issues. I am now closing the thread. Thanks to all :)