With spring almost here, now is the time to bring out bright colors and bold patterns. This year skip the Hawaiian print and make your own patterns with acrylic paint and Sharpies. This week I took inspiration from Basquiat (a graffiti artist who became a famous New York painter) and painted a jacket that I sourced from Goodwill.
Basquiat worked in the 70’s and 80’s and is known for his gestural characters and scratchy, immediate style. His imagery is bold and provides inspiration for great patterns. (He was a good friend of pop artist, Andy Warhol. I’ll talk about Warhol in a later post about stenciling).
While you can prep this project and take your time with it, you might also consider having an event where everyone wears clothing from Goodwill. You supply paint so that everyone can mark up each other’s clothing. By the end of the night, everyone goes home with a one-of-a- kind outfit. (You might want to do this outside or consider putting drop cloths down to protect your space).
What You Need
- A jacket, pants, dress or other article of clothing from Goodwill to paint on (look for tailored articles because the paint will stiffen the fabric. Flimsy fabrics are not ideal. Also lighter colored fabrics are easier to deal with then dark or patterned ones).
- Acrylic paints and brushes
- Permanent markers
Start by drawing a rough + outline in pencil, or Sharpie if you are feeling bold. This will help you lay out your images before committing to the full design.
Once you’re happy with the design begin blocking in the colors with paint. Your edges will be rough. Once you’ve painted in your shapes and they’re dry, use a Sharpie to outline the rough edges to give the piece a more graphic, finished look.
This project has a lot of room for experimentation and variation. No need to worry about perfection with this one. In a later post I will talk about stenciling, for those of you who might be hesitant to be so freeform. But you might consider giving this project a try anyway. It’s a lot of fun and a great conversation starter.
