Clothing as canvas: Local artist creates line of jeans for the Gap

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Eyewitness News first introduced you to artist John Paul O'Grodnick working at his Bronx home last month.

He had just landed a deal to create limited edition jeans for The Gap.

Saturday at the Gap concept store on Fifth Avenue, O'Grodnick was hard at work using clothing as canvas, creating one-of-a-kind items for shoppers.

He uses both brushes and spray cans to get paint to transform fashion into art.

"I mix a lot of styles and vibes, and a lot of different colors. I'm inspired by everything I see, everything I do, everything I hear. It's just happening faster than I thought it would be and it's just awesome," said John.

O'Grodnick is just one of several artists Gap has enlisted to make customized denim for customers.

The 33-year-old, originally from Bridgeport just landed a giant deal - he showed Eyewitness News the limited edition line of jeans being sold in the Gap's Fifth Avenue flagship store.

"You'll put your hands up here, wipe like an artist jeans, you know what I mean," says John.

John has no formal training, and first picked up a can of spray paint like others in the 1980s when he was in elementary school. At the time it was just a phase - or so he thought.

John's pieces are mixed-medium, and are layered with brilliant splashes of paint and marker.

"It's like taking a jar and filling it with rocks and it's full, and then taking pebbles and pouring those in and they go through the cracks. Then take sand and pour that in till it's full, and then once I see it's done..." says John.

For a new start, John just left his full time job to pursue his passion.

"Obviously with change comes nervousness, but I'm ready for it, and it seems the world is ready, too," John adds.