Timbuk2 bags for Winterfest

This has been quite an exciting week. A friend of mine called with a cool proposition for painting Timbuk2 messenger bags for the SF Bike Coalition fundraiser (Winterfest) this Sunday.

After a couple of conversations with my best art resource, Diane Olivier, I decided that fabric markers are the best option for materials. Acrylic paint was ruled out because it is plastic and will crack once this bag is really put to use. And the bags are made of canvas, so oil paint is an option, but a layer of gesso is necessary to prime the surface and to keep the oil from eating away at the material. Fabric Markers will hold up to abuse, the color is bright and they are even washable.



I did some tests and played around with some options. I was very pleased that I could use a waterbrush to get some watercolor shading effects. I was a little concerned that adding water would compromise the permanence, but once the test dried I couldn't pick the color up again with the water brush.

With all the testing complete, I jumped right in and drew a bikey one. Handlebars, with lugs! Here are some progress shots.


Front panel.



The second bag is inspired by my trip to Japan. The leaves will be varying shades of red, orange and yellow. There is a tiny red maple leaf sitting on my sketchbook for reference!

If you like these, come to Winterfest on Sunday and bid on them. Profits go to the SF Bike Coalition and to bikey improvements all over the city. I want my Amsterdam bike lanes, damnit. I also want bullet trains, but that's a whole other blog posting.