Monopoly Shoe

by Mike Pitzer, 2020

As they say, “The game of Monopoly has the unique power to unite and divide a family in the matter of an hour.” Growing up in Algonac, Michigan in a little 3-bedroom, on-bath home, my parents bought us our first Monopoly game. It was cheeper than a colored TV, something we didn’t get as a family until I was 17. A little background on the game itself, from 1950 to 1988, all of the game pieces remained the same. The “Boot” had been around since the beginning. It was modeled after the practical work shoe of the 30s. Instead of changing its design with the times, the Boot remained the same and was the symbol of both hard work and the riches that can come along with it. It was the third and final token to be retired in 2017. A T-Rex, penguin, and rubber ducky replaced the thimble, wheelbarrow, and boot. Myself, I never got the race car and seldom got the boot. I was usually stuck with the “Iron”.

I thought I’d try something different with my Pop Realism and attempt to create a Da Vinci-like or Vermeer-like painting of the Monopoly Shoe, but create it in pencil on illustration board. This is where I came out.

Credits:

Title: “Monopoly Shoe”
Artist: Mike Pitzer
Medium: Graphite, Colored Pencil on Illustration Board
Image Size: 30 1/8″ W x 30 1/8″ T
Signed & Dated: MPitzer ‘2020
Series: “Happy Art”