BRAD’S BESPOKE SHIRTS
The interview below details Brad’s process behind his hand-painted bespoke shirts. This is a long-term project where he aims to paint 30 shirts, each with its own unique, colourful design. Every shirt features one of Brad’s signature characters.
First, Chris McDonald from Blue Lawn Designs prints my designs onto shirts at his factory. Then, I use Posca pens to paint inside the outlines. I start by blocking out the big shapes before working on the smaller ones. Finally, I like to add a little pizazz to bring everything together, like sparkles or dots!
I enjoy the process of painting these shirts because it’s relaxing to fill in the lines—I get very focused. It can take me a long time to complete all the little details, like the dots. Sometimes, I accidentally go outside the lines because I have shaky thumbs, but I think this makes each shirt unique! My favourite characters I’ve created are Spike the Bug, Sam the Toucan, and Stinger the Bug. I really like Spike because of his funny catchphrase: “I’m having a meltdown.”
