Introduction to Painting Leather Jackets

Series Summary

Leather jackets are an iconic symbol of rebellion in Western culture. Whether you are riding a motorcycle, fighting oppressive popular culture or rocking out to punk music, a leather jacket is almost always appropriately alternative. The brown or black leather jackets of music and movie stars like Marlon Brando, the Fonz, and the Ramones clearly play a role in the rock and roll rebellion of the characters being portrayed. Today, leather jackets do not represent quite as alternative an image, but in some circles would certainly set a person apart from the masses.

In this free video series, our expert will show you how to make an old or vintage leather jacket a unique piece of art. Learn how to paint a leather jacket with these expert design advice, and get tips on picking the best leather jacket for the type of design you want. You will also learn what type of paint to use for leather jackets, how to use stencils and how to mix the paint for the best look. If you are looking for a fun craft or simply want to personalize a leather jacket for yourself or as a present, let our expert show you how it done in this free video art lesson.

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Kristine Mueller and welcome to Expert Village. Today I'm going to teach you how to paint a leather jacket. I've been painting for let's say since I was 10 years old. I've studied every type of painting from oil, to acrylic, to watercolor. Gosh, like everything. Basically, about 6 years ago, I love to vintage shop and I found this great place with lots of leather jackets. It was actually a leather jackets for a dollar each. I bought some, but the colors were really ugly, so I decided I would have to figure out a way to paint them basically. That's what I did. I have worked for a couple of different designers painting and I've also sold my jackets in different stores around town. I've done it for quite a while now. It's very laborious, but I do love it and I think it's really cool. I just think it's such a unique thing. I love a one of a kind type things. Basically, you have something that nobody else has. You can create it to reflect your individual personalities. Instead of wearing something that everybody else is wearing that's a little generic, you do something that reflects who you are and your personal taste. It's kind of cool. Also, in terms of finding jackets, I really like going to the vintage stores because they're cheap. You can get a wide variety from the vintage styles to fairly new styles. You're not investing 200 dollars in a great jacket. If you mess it up it's okay. You can fix it, which I'll show you how to do. I just think it's a great place to find pretty much whatever you want. Vintage stores, thrift stores, all that kind of stuff. "