Leather jacket painting

Model: Rob Devine
Photographer: Photos4all

The jacket is made from thick heavy duty leather, purchased from Camden Market, London. I was asked to paint a picture of the 80's glam metal band Mötley Crüe onto the back panel, including the band name in the lower back panel. 

I chose to use acrylic paints as they are reasonably flexible and will allow for some give in the fabric. They should not react with moderate quantities of water, and will allow a strong colourful finish.

I firstly painted the back panel with white acrylic paint to provide me with a plain base to work on. The white surface will allow the colours to appear more vibrant and strong, rather than painting straight onto black. The base coat will also prim the surface, meaning less paint will be absorbed when I come to painting the desired image. It also acts as a barrier, giving clear indication where the image will stop.

Below is the image I will be working from:

I had to crop the image slightly to fit the panel shape. 

This is the Mötley Crüe logo I will copy onto the lower panel of the jacket:

The finished painting:

Model: Rob Devine
Photographer: Photos4all