Jason Jones Art

AIRBRUSH WORKS

2010-05-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

as I venture deeper into the airbrush world as a full time job, I figured I'd post my more recent airbrush paintings...........

Eleanor CMYK (continued)

2010-05-03T11:34:00.001-07:00

Eleanor CMYK (continued)

2010-05-03T11:29:00.001-07:00

Eleanor CMYK

2010-05-03T11:25:00.001-07:00

this is my eldest daughter Eleanor, using a subtractive/ additive CMYK process - for a first attempt, I'm pretty happy

Sorry again!

2010-05-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy painting (and moving house for the winter), not to mention welcoming my new daughter, Jane, into the world, that this place has slipped - regardless, this is the most recent offering. Mainly portraits in different styles - hope you enjoy

Sorry!!!!!!

2009-10-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

found out in February that we were due to have another daughter (due today). Since January, we finished our house renovation, sold it in the summer, and am currently renting until we find a new venue! The Kneivel painting will be continued asap, along with some new material and ideas - please stay tuned!

JJ

Knievel continued

2009-01-13T14:35:00.000-08:00

I wanted the packaging to be that real cheap Chinese stuff, with no reference to Evel at all. It just seemed fitting somehow, as it wasn't too patronising - plus, the real aficiandos out there will recognise the bike. I had "Jump Cycle" as the original package title, but soon realised it needed the word "Super" preceding in small text.

So far, just the background is blocked in, the canvas being 5' x 4', and in acylic.........

Evel Knievel Tribute

2009-01-13T14:06:00.000-08:00

There are two types of people in this world. Those who are daredevils, and those who aren't. Those who aren't become insurance brokers in order to finacially cover those that are. That's how the world works.

This is Evel Knievel's fault. The next time you have to put on a suit and head into the office to sit in front of a computer and listen to copiers running all day and wonder whatever happened to that wonderful life as a kid skateboarding over a plywood ramp with all your friends and hoping that your mom would let you stay out another hour because the sun was still up.......blame him. It's easy to fall off a ramp at 80 miles per hour, but it's not easy to get people to pay to watch it.

EK (which, interestingly enough are my daughter's and wife's initials) died late last year, at 69 years old. Probably through boredom. He not only influenced me and all of my friends in our formative years of the 70s, but is the reason I am still the way I am. It was a revalation to see someone ALLOWED to act that way, albeit under strict supervision.

He is the King of Daredevils, and that's why I'm painting his bike.

Now, before the thousands who read this blog begin screaming sacrilidge, I KNOW he jumped a modified Triumph Bonneville, but after several months of research and attempting to contact his Estate, I got nothing imagewise.

So I used one of his many other jump cycles, the 1972 Harley Davidson XR750. This particular bike is now on display at the Smithsonian.

The idea behind the painting, much like the Ducati, is to package the bike as a toy, this time at 1/2 scale, with the Caesars Palace as the cardboard backdrop - here's the photoshop mockup....

Isn't it interesting..............

2008-12-31T08:20:00.000-08:00

.........what difference a few hours and glasses of wine make. Balanced the helmet tones, and almost completed the jacket - sunglasses and safety glass are the order of the day today - sure beats sitting in front of a computer........which is kind of ironic..............

A plastic plate, a hole punch, and a Sharpie

2008-12-30T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the wall's pretty much finished, so I began detailing the items inside the case. The final piece will have fire safety glass as the case door, so I wanted to begin detailing to a level that would complement this - i.e. low. The thing about super realism, is that it takes a long time. The thing about super realism on a piece that's 48" x 80" is that it takes a REALLY long time. So, I have to learn to cut corners, and not spend too much time on elements that aren't the main focus of the piece, such as breeze blocks and peg board. So, I basically found a section of pegboard (my daughter's toy tool set), and used it as a dot template - notice I say "dot" not "hole" - I then had to punch a hole in a plastic plate, and Sharpie in every hole individually (this method proved to work the best) - onto the helmet and jacket now...........

Falling Goat

2008-12-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I completed a piece for a friend's brother. It was entitled "Bombat Helicopcop Dead", after a dream that the brother's son had had. A few weeks ago, he contacted me again, asking for another painting, this time entitled "Falling Goat". The facts is, his daughter and his other son were to be in the painting, and the "falling goat" is a password she uses around the house - it's a very entailed description, but if one client ever pushes me from the world of Realism, to that of Surrealism, it'll be this guy...............

Captain America Update

2008-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Who'd have thought that the most labour intensive part of the painting would be breeze block walls? So simple in theory, but not so in practice - so many subtle pinholes and shading variances in the mortar will make this a long haul. I have found in the past that this monotony can translate into a magical backdrop, on which the real subject is displayed - that's why I figured I'd get it finished before completing any more of the painting...........I just need to remain sane.

Captain America update

2008-12-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

Friday at last, and managed to get a full day, (i.e. no architecture), on the painting. Completed the security case for the items, and began mapping in their shadows. As I had the jacket, sunglasses, and miniature toy helmet in my possession, I simply shone a flashlight on each piece individually, and used the resulting shadows as reference - the sunglasses were the most surprising - I didn't realise they sat so far off the canvas. Either way, it's starting to look convincing, and that's really all that keeps me going. Otherwise, I'd probably be designing a bedroom addition instead.........

Captain America update

2008-12-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

Managed to get another few hours in on the Captain America Emergency Kit painting today - using my own abused Indian motorcycle jacket as reference, I began working into the coat, in order to try and acheive the worn, old look. I figured the coat is better with some battle scars (and possibly the helmet), as it was at the end of the movie - plus, no one wants to look at a NEW motorcycle jacket - let alone wear one - anyway, still plenty of work left on it, so off I go..........

Guest Appearance at Dunbar EuroSports

2008-12-01T07:26:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a busy day. I visited Dunbar Eurosports, a local Ducati and BMW dealership as a "guest painter", where I finished off the Casey Stoner helmet, as part of the Customer Appreciation Day. I had some good feedback, as well as some print orders of the Ducati in Styrofoam! It was an all day session, from about 10:30 to 3:30, and got to meet a lot of great people, including a few members of The Yankee Beemers, the New England BMW Club.

In between Tacos and painting, I got a chance to chat with Roy Bertalotto, the Club President, and we discussed a possible BMW painting, so stay tuned for updates.

All in all, the attendees consisted of very knowledgeable and big time riders, obviously full of the riding passion. The atmosphere was great, and I made some great contacts.

One of the highlights, as far as bikes goes, was the already infamous Ducati Desmosedici RR, the $72,000, 200 HP Race Replica. Full Carbon Fiber panels and tip top components and 1 of only 45 imported to the US, it really was a pleasant surprise to see it in the flesh.

Now, off to finish Captain America.............

Captain America Emergency Kit Painting

2008-11-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hot on the heels of the Casey Stoner helmet, here's the first shot of the Captain America "Easy Rider" emergency kit. The jacket, helmet, and shades will be in a glass case for easy access in times of need. The helmet's metallic blue, metallic red, and pearlescent white, while the jacket's supple black leather, with the quilted Stars and Stripes - a challenge no doubt, but I hope it'll be worth it.......

Casey Stoner's Helmet: New Progress Shot

2008-11-20T06:08:00.000-08:00

The painting won't be complete until November 29th (as I will be finishing it live at Dunbar Eurosport's Customer Appreciation Day).

But here it is today...

I'll post pictures of the event and finished painting.

Casey Stoner Helmet--The Idea

2008-11-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Probably like most artists, I have no problem painting, but when it comes to selling my work...forget it. I have no idea how to do that. Thankfully my wife Kerry has jumped on board to help market my work. Hence the blog...

When the Ducati painting was nearing completion she sent an email out to several local Ducati dealerships to get some feedback. We got a great response and one dealership invited me to attend their Customer Appreciation Day.

I'll be at Dunbar Eurosports in Brockton, MA signing paintings on November 29th. They wanted me to be painting while I'm there and since the Ducati painting is too big to lug around (not to mention, finished) , I started a brand new painting...Casey Stoner's Helmet.

Here are the first progress shots.

Limited Edition Prints--Step One

2008-11-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

This is a new adventure for me. As an artist, I've only ever sold my original work. For the Ducati painting, I decided it was time to reseach the world of fine art printing. After countless phone calls and several meetings, we found Ditto Editions.

Ditto Editions uses some highly impressive scanning devices/printers/inks to accurately capture and reproduce original works of art. It's the closest you can get to an original painting. But it won't take them 2 years and 300 hours to reproduce.

The first step in the process is to digitally capture the artwork. This photo was taken in their studio, while they set up proper lights and equipment to capture the painting.

The next step will be the proofing and printing process...stay tuned!

The Ducati Painting leaves the building

2008-11-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

We (my wife Kerry and I) dragged the bike out to the driveway to get some full scale shots before sending it to the professionals.

Having just dropped my real motorcycle off in storage for the winter, it was nice to see a bike back in the driveway again.

A Painting is Finished

2008-11-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

and 300 hours later...the Ducati painting is finished. Well sort of. Right before shipping it off to the studio for pictures I realized I couldn't live with the gas tank. It looked way too flat. I fixed it (no picture...sigh). At least now I can sleep at night.

I will post the final picture when we receive it from the studio.

Ducati--The Styrofoam Background

2008-11-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

So...why Styrofoam for a background?

You very rarely see a bike perfectly from the side. I wanted to take it out of being in a situation where you would normally see it—on a racetrack, street or in a garage with a naked girl over it. I wanted to get rid of all that. The nice thing is the bike is small enough to be able to paint full size and I thought it would be fun to paint this way as you can see every detail. It’s not like a car. A car is basically –well, every nut and bolt is covered with metal, plastic or glass. Every single one. You don’t really see the engineering at first glance. With a motorcycle you do.

That’s where the jewelry idea came from. I wanted to display it, not as a toy, but as a precious item. A piece of jewelry. So I went and looked at all the different ways people package delicate items—everythign from computers to collectible toys. There are a lot of different ways to package things—styrafoam is an obvious one and people are familiar with that. It’s cold and machine made and it works nicely with the smooth, very engineered motorcycle. I think for the Ducati it represents the bike.

A Painting is Born...

2008-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

After a few years spent painting mostly portraits and commissions, I decided to combine my love of motorcycles into my artwork. I like the mechanics of the bikes—the physical engineering—the bolts, the set-up, everything.

Because I have built so many bikes I know how they go together and it’s exciting to paint them. All different types of nuts and bolts have different finishes on them and that’s part of the fun. It’s all very subtle. Figuring out how to paint it is the challenge. It’s something I enjoy looking at so it makes it enjoyable to paint.

I picked the Ducati 916 as the first in a series of 12 bikes I plan on painting. I don't have any photographs of the initial sketch work but here's an early progress shots...

Jazz Show--Opening Night

2008-10-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

The jazz show was a huge success- every single painting sold! Here are a few pictures of the opening night...

Jazz Show: Setting Up

2008-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

Once the jazz paintings were done (see previous posts) we got to work hanging the show. We set the lighting, brought in some turntables and vinyl (gotta have the wraspy sounds of vinyl for a show on jazz) and plenty of Heineken and champagne to get us through the night.

Each painting had a great quotes about jazz next to it and I had vinyl lettering made for one of the walls saying "Man, if you have to ask wat it is, you'll never know."-- Louis Armstron on Jazz.

Jazz Series

2008-10-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

Below are some paintings from a solo show I exhibited at the Bermuda National Gallery. With the permission of talented jazz photgrapher Herman Leonard, I used his stunning photos as reference for these acrylic on canvas paintings.

Jazz Paintings: Dinah Washington

2008-10-17T15:08:00.000-07:00

Dinah Washington, 24" x 36"

Jazz Paintings: Dexter Gordon

2008-10-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Dexter Gordon, 48"x60", Enamel & Acrylic

Jazz Paintings: Frank

2008-10-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

Frank Sinatra, 24"x 32"

Jazz Paintings: Ms Holiday and Trumpet Player

2008-10-15T15:14:00.000-07:00

Billie Holiday, 16" x 22"

Trumpet Player, 18"x 22"

Jazz Paintings: Donald Byrd, Musicians Laughing

2008-10-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Donald Byrd, 8"x10"

Musicians Laughing 18" x 24"

1985 Haro Freestyler Master and 1984 Redline PL-20

2007-12-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hey, I don't only build motorcycles - check out my dream bike as a kid - the neon green HFM and a rat rod version of the famous Redline PL-20

Her first photo shoot

2006-10-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, ironically, 2 years later, I moved to South Beach, Miami, and became a Florida resident - however, I had long since donated my Salvage Title frame, so my wife, armed with her new camera, deceided a photo shoot was in order.

Shortly afterwards (that afternoon) I sold the bike to a stunter. The chances of it surviving were pretty slim. I think I'll build another one someday........

Bike Build IV

2004-11-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

I lied.

We hadn't finished the bike. This is why.

When you do a liter bike front end swap you need 6 things.

1) 929 triple clamp - check
2) 929 forks - check
3) 929 brake calipers - check
4) 929 brake discs - check
5) 929 front wheel - not check
6) 929 front wheel axle - not check

The F4i front axle is smaller than that of the 929. So is the axle hole in the wheel. So are the axle holes in the forks.

This means that the axle holes in the 929 forks are too large. And we leave in 45 minutes for Key West, which is 12 hours away.

So, the axle fits the wheel, but not the forks. Well, one end of it. With a bit of grinding. The F4i axle is tapered at one end, and hence 2 different diameters. The 929 forks also have 2 separate diameters.

It turns out, that when swapped end for end, the large end of the axle is snug in the small hole of the forks. This leaves the small end of the axle very loose in the large hole of the forks. I envisioned that this would prove unsatisfactory at 155 mph, which, as we all know, is the posted US speed limit.

Anyway, the axle had approx. 1/8" all the way around it, where it went through the forks. The exact thickness of PVC tubing. And that's what went in. A section of pvc pipe, cut into a "C" so that it could be clamped, and shortened to the width of the fork opening.

So off we went.........

Key West - Bike Build III

2004-11-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

As my memory serves, we got the F4i running fine, once we had replaced the motor. Turns out the motor that I bought with the bike had a bent crankshaft, which was awesome. So, I found another used motor on eBay for $500, called up the guys in Miami, and they had it in Jax by 4pm the next day - perfect. I was SO happy with the bike, apart from one thing. I was not a Florida resident. This meant that I couldn't tag my bike, due to the NY Salvage Title. There were 2 ways around this. I could become a FL resident, or I could buy another frame, with clear title. I chose the frame. In fact, I chose a polished frame. In fact, I chose a polished frame, polished rims, polished swingarm, 929 front end, and ceramic coated headers, plus lots of other parts. I worked out that from the original salvage bike I had bought, the only original parts were gas tank, seat, rear plastic, and hand controls.

On the positive side, I thought the bike would look killer - and it did.

Typically, I like to order all the parts, have them sent to Bri's house, ask him to find someone to polish everything (thanks again, Bri), and build the bike the night before a long ride.

This was a LONG ride. This was the length of Florida. In one day. On a sportbike. 6 of us. With race pipes. Here's how it went..........

This must be day one. This is how I know.

1) It's dark, so we've just arrived from Bermuda.

2) Nothing has been started on the bike.

3) We left for Key West 2 days after we arrived. Early.

Due to the genius that is tagged images on digital cameras, I'll take you through a chronological (re)build of the bike. We built the bike "gubment" style, which is to say, one guys works while 5 guys watch. It works pretty well, especially if it's Bob doing the work........

10:30pm
11:03pm11:31pm11:32pm 11:33pm

12:52am 1:00am

1:01am1:02am 1:39am 2:30am
Apparently, we went to sleep for a while................

10:21am

10:38am10:41am

not sure where we went, but here we are the night before we leave.....

9:11 pm

9:14pm 12:47pm 2:13am 2:49am2:50am 2:51am3:21am DONE

The second trip - bike build part II

2004-02-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

this is over 4 years ago, so a bit of a blur for me, but from the looks of Bri's photos, we went to Daytona. Wolley (another mate from the board) is there too - which means I must've ridden the F4i down. Which is interesting, because it doesn't look road worthy just yet. Plus, I seem to remember got past our starting issues at about 2am in Bri's 'hood. Quite a disturbance with 2 unbaffled race pipes firing up..............

Anyway, it looks like I got the bike on the road, and we headed 3 or 4 hours to the Daytona 200 at bike week - I don't remember any DMV inspections, but nobody can prove anything. That combined with the fact that I had used JB weld to seal a cracked fork tube (another little surprise), made it a less than confident first road test.

watched the race with another fellow board member - Kill.

after the race was over, and a couple of beers in, I decided that it would be fitting to bid farewell to Kill, by performing a crucifix on his bike. Whch was nice..........

The Honda F4i

2003-12-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

I love motorcycles. Out of all of them, this is, and always will be, my favourite. There are several reasons. This bike was a write-off when I bought it. NY Salvage title, and a LOT of damage, that I'll slowly get to, over the course of the build - looking through the images of the build (and the fact that I'm pre-dating this section), it's like having a crystal ball. I'd still do it again.............

I had only known Brian Schmidt from HSBN, a Honda chat forum, and even then, only for a few months. Nevertheless, I sent my wrecked Honda to his house.

Scratch that. I sent my wrecked Honda near his house. The truck couldn't fit through some of the estate roads. He and his lovely wife Wendy pushed it, flat tires, and locked brakes, the rest of the way home. I was in Bermuda, probably drinking rum.

Shortly thereafter, I flew to Jacksonville, Florida, with my bike build/ stunter/ drinker partner, Bobert. We had bought him a wrecked bike, too.

Bob and I both love Streetfighters, which is convenient when you have a smashed bikes.

We had the bikes stripped, and the build underway withing the first 2 hours of arriving at this strangers house (after cooking him huge steaks).

Another friend on the board, KCult (Troy), had driven down fron TN about 12 hours to see us. So we used his truck to straighten my bent subframe (the fact is was bent was an interesting piece of news).

EDIT: After reviewing the photos, it appears that I had decided that it would be a good idea to mount my polished race pipe on the bike before doing any other rebuild work. In the trade, this is what we call "grossly out of sequence".

We then continued drilling and wrenching putting bars, headlights and whatever we could find on the bikes, and then went out for Bri's first gift to us - Vodka Red Bulls. We still drink these to this day, for special occassions, or whenever there's nothing else.

The cameraman in this photo is Erzy - Tim Erzinger. Sadly, we lost him in 2008, after surgery complications, but I would never trade those days we spent together for anything. He rode a Yamaha, but nobody's perfect.

The next morning (or mid-day) what was left of us began stripping the bikes for paint - yes, we were ready for paint on day 2. Funny thing is, Jacksonville gets cold in December - real cold - like 40 degrees. So paint took a while to dry. This was proven by Bri's clothing marks in most of the parts - talk about bull in a spray booth.