Kekoa Paki Arts

I used to be really into making masks and cosplays when I was younger. I tried to start up a stand outside of my family’s house in Alaska, selling clay masks I had made on our dining room table. One time, me and my grandparents made a full cosplay of the character Mr. Hopps from Mr. Hopp’s Playhouse. I should view this jacket customization as an extension of that desire to make art intended to be worn.

Mr. Hopps cosplay I made when I was younger.

Sketches I made before painting the jacket

Wings I painted on jacket

I planned to make the jacket a reflection of my aesthetics. The first idea I had was to paint wings on the back of the jacket because of how I identify with angel imagery. I also wanted to draw a heart on the front left pocket of the jacket, because I associate myself with heart imagery as well. Hearts are a symbol associated with passion, like the passion I have for art. I also wanted to paint something on the right arm of the jacket, as that’s the arm I use to make art, but I wasn’t sure what design I wanted to go with by that point. I figured I’d just start painting and see what happened.

After I finished the shirt, I started painting the jacket, and immediately made a mistake by putting the pre-coat for the heart on the wrong side (college-graduate by the way). Still, the situation was salvageable; I simply covered the wrong heart with a wave pattern before painting a heart on the right (as in left) side. I then proceeded to paint wings on the back of the jacket. I tried to make the heart and wings look like they were made out of paint, hence why the wings are drippy, and the heart is swirling. I made all the designs on the jacket red, blue, and yellow because that is my favorite color palette.

Front of Jacket after being painted

Jacket front pockets after being painted

Jacket sleeve after being painted

Once I was done with all the other designs, I decided to paint the right forearm of the piece with a simple, drippy band of red, blue, and yellow paint, as opposed to the larger designs I was thumbnailing in my sketchbook.

I’m quite happy with how the Jacket turned out, and feel it does a good job of representing my aesthetics. If anyone is interested in getting their jacket painted, feel free to contact me. This was fun, and I’d think I’d like to do something like this again.

Me wearing Jacket after it was painted