I'm a WWII historian and have been doing WWII living history since 1992. My wife Beth is also into WWII history and Living History. I am a Warbird's Chairman at AirVenture Oshkosh and am the Base commander of our WWII living History encampment that comes to life every year at the fly-in. Check out our site at www.warbirdslhg.org. I’ve been into art virtually my whole life. I have always thought that the female was the most beautiful creation on God’s earth. And, I
have had an admiration for classic tease Pin-Up art since I was a teen. I believe that the Pin-Up art of the 1940’s and 1950’s exemplifies the peak of this art form. Pin-Up renditions that are classy, yet tantalizing and leave enough to one’s imagination. My idols are the pioneers of the style, my favorites being Vargas, Elvgren and Petty. Although this list could go on and on! I also love the Pin-Up photography of these decades and have a fairly large collection. I have
always had a fascination with the history of WWII, the equipment used, uniforms and “Nose Art” created by base artists for aircrews on the side noses of their aircraft. This was still an innocent and romantic period in our history. A time when men showed class and women were proud of their looks and dressed the part! I began painting on leather jackets in the late 1980’s. I began to recreate my own nose art on the backs of my
own jackets and soon I had others asking me to paint their jackets! My first jacket was a tribute to the “Memphis Belle” WWII B-17 with the Petty Girl on it. Since then I have created
hundreds of renditions on jackets with many themes. The most popular is the Pin-Up, but I also love to paint aircraft and have done motorcycle and sports themes. I can also do “Nose Art” on vehicles and aircraft! I DO NOT USE an Airbrush in my work. I use only my brushes and techniques that I have perfected over the years just as original
jackets were created in the field. I use an acrylic leather dye paint that will last the life of the jacket.
SP says:
To see more of K.J’s artwork and find out just how much it will cost you to own one these damn fine jackets you should contact him via his myspace page by clicking on the link below.
To see more of K.J’s artwork and find out just how much it will cost you to own one these damn fine jackets you should contact him via his myspace page by clicking on the link below.
THE MAN HIMSELF
