Artist K.J. "Wiz" profile picture

Artist K.J. "Wiz"

Pin-Up / Aviation Artist

About Me

I'm a WWII historian and have been doing WWII living history since 1992. My wife of 10 years Beth, whome I worship, is also into WWII history and Living History and we are in a SKA band together.
I am a Warbird's Chairman at Air-Venture Oshkosh and am the Base commander of our WWII living History encampment that comes to life every year during the length of the event.
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. Please message me here for details on commissioning a work and costs. The slide show under interests shows some of the many Squadron patches I have done on leather. These can be sewn to the front of your jacket and are made to order!
I edited my profile with Thomas’ Myspace Editor V3.6 !

My Interests

My Wife, Painting & Drawing, WWII History and WWII History preservation. Living History. Collecting vintage and retro Pin-Ups! Firefighting and Fire Prevention, Tinkering with Cars, Listening to and Playing Ska & Reggae music, Traveling, Camping, Racing and collecting Historical Memorabilia

I'd like to meet:

Classic artists like Vargas, Elvgren and Petty to name a few. Betty Page! The current Pin-Up Gals who keep cheeze alive and well like BERNIE DEXTER!

Music:

SKA (old school, two tone & modern), Big Band / jump & Jive, Lounge, Rockabilly, Alternative, Bluegrass

Movies:


Classics, Period Flicks, WWII theme films ("Kelly's Heroes" forever rules!), The Mad Max series of movies, the Indiana Jones series of flicks, anything by Steven Spielberg and Tim Burton! Tom Hanks movies, Comedy and romance films.

Television:

Simpsons,Turner Classics, Speed, Military & History channels. Put EMERGENCY BACK ON!

Books:

History books! Pin-Up art and Artists, Aviation, Biographies

Heroes:

My Father Roman Jon Wisniewski USNR WWII, Korea, Vietnam! Service men and Women and past Veterans who protect our freedoms from evil abroad!

Beth and I with Jack Roush