DRAGON JACKET

This is the first piece of clothing that I ever painted, back in 1985. I had just graduated high school and was about to take a trip to London with my friend Annie Sinclair. It took me most of three days to paint it, the toughest being the large silver circle in which to paint the dragon. It was my first experience painting on black denim, and a definite learning experience in covering a dark color. Yes, the jacket is a bit stiff, and I have never worn it that much for that exact reason, but I still have it. It's a geat jacket. I remember finishing the dragon, and thinking that it didn't look quite right, until I got the idea to add the variations to the scales, and then it was perfect. I painted the pupils of the dragon last, as I had heard tattooist's in Japan did when creating a dragon image.