Big Brother?

Hey Hey! Tuesday! Swiftly becoming my favorite day of the week. I'm starting to really enjoy sitting down in my leather recliner and chicken peckin' my thoughts down. This is something you couldn't have paid me to do a couple years ago. Funny how things work out.
So, I recieved a lot of emails and messages concerned about my well being. Well don't fret. My ride is fixed (altinator), and I'm well on my way to finding a high paying, cushy dayjob. I guess when you don't complain a whole lot, people worry about you when you do. Thank for your concern friends. I am better and cooler than ever!

I have had the opportunity to catch some television lately. I usually don't admit to watching TV. Mostly because I only watch cartoons. Let me tell you, todays animated programs are flippin' awesome. If you never checked out "Adventure Time" or  "Regular Show", you are missing out. I don't even know if they are for kids, but they are awesome.
I also managed to catch a couple of commercials that really disturbed me. The main offender is Progressive insurance. Granted, I have the hots for the ditsy, bright red lipstick wearing, "regular" looking girl spokes woman they use.I'm sure a lot of you have the hots for the cool, rugged, gas tank filling dude they use. This a side, just what the hell is going on here! Do you mean to tell me people are volunteering to let their insurance company put a monitoring device in their car to save a couple bucks. This device, as I understand it, monitors just about your every maneuver and has GPS (which they deny, but c'mon). Sounds like Big Brother Bullshit to me. Am I over reacting? I don't think so. She is hot though.

 Well luckily, I don't have to embrace that crap, I can go down to my studio and create, which really helps level me out. I finished a couple pieces this week and have several more on the cusp. I will be showing a couple of these in beautiful Whiting Indiana on March 2nd, at a sweet little joint called Gallery 659 http://www.facebook.com/groups/136494383028590/ . Hope you can make it. In the interim, don't forget you can pick up cool JAGIII merch at my Zazzle store http://www.zazzle.com/jagiii, and don't forget

to follow my progressive, oops, progress, on my fanpage, http://www.facebook.com/pages/JAG-III/121818188748 . Rock on

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Piece of Crap Car

Trying to maintain my happy pants attitude despite some setbacks. My beautiful 1996 Olds Cutlass decided to quit on me. Alternator? Who the hell knows. Stranded for 3 hours in a gas station, freezing my ass off waiting for a tow truck, is not a good way to spend the day. I was just running out for smokes so I didn't even grab my phone or iPod. The wait would have been more fun with some Plants vs. Zombies or some tunes. Regardless, my ride is safely with "my guy". I sure enjoy helping him pay for his boat. I hope his boat mechanic rakes him over the coals, so he knows what it feels like.
 I also have been looking for a day job, with no luck. The art is going so good, but I need to subsidise. It sure is a different scene than trying to get a gig a few years ago. Any other time in my history, my job search went like this. Friend: Hey dude, you want a job at my company? Me: Okay. Is there a drug test?
Not to worry, everything always falls into place.
 The art I'm doing these days is truly kicking ass! I was suppose to make an appearance at a show in Milwaukee last week but 5 inches of snow kept me home. Ended up okay because I was really able to get in some serious studio time. I've been focusing on Illustrations for a few days now and the disciplines I've obtained from my large scale pieces I did last year, are really carrying over. I didn't realize it, but I was learning just like the Karate Kid. I was repeating the same moves over and over and over until I just knew how to do it without even thinking. I didn't even need to wax a car or paint a deck. Cool. Look for new examples of this on my fanpage this week http://www.facebook.com/pages/JAG-III/121818188748 . I've  I'm hoping to announce a N/W Indiana gallery show soon.
Please check out my newly updated,again, JAG III store on Zazzle http://www.zazzle.com/jagiii. I added some really cool new products, including neck ties and phone cases. I really want some pics of someone in their cube or at a fancy wedding in one of my crazy looking ties.
Talk to y'all next week.  Peace and bacon grease.

Not heading to Tijuana yet

Alright Tuesday! Another installment of my scatter brained ramblings. Busy week. Worked hard with JAG III product specialist Amy to get some new merch up on my Zazzle Store ( http://www.zazzle.com/jagiii). Really great stuff, mugs, magnets, phone cases, etc. I particularly like the neck ties. The thought of someone working in a cube or at a wedding, wearing a tie with my crazy artwork on it, blows my mind. Also, I Finalized plans for a show in Milwaukee (http://www.facebook.com/events/322579387762966/). Milwaukee is fun. I always eat and drink too much when I go there. My time in the studio this week was dominated by paint. I really don't consider myself a painter, I feel like a kid, frantically filling black and white images provided me, with color. The cool thing is, I also created the black and white images I'm filling with color. I must pat myself on the back, my painting style is totally self taught and constantly evolving, I don't see anything else like it out there.

With all this going on, I expect to be launched into Ed Hardy sell out stardom soon. I'm already the most successful artist I know personally. Without the support of my wife, my family, friends and fans, I would probably be selling Chiclets in Tijuana. But I do have the support, and the talent. Thanks for being there.

Great Resolve

Happy New Year! 2011 went so damn fast, my head is still spinning. I made a scroll instead of a list of resolutions this year. One is to blog once a week without fail. Look for new posts each and every Tuesday till the end of time. I also resolved to be more honest with my posts and try and let people know a little more about the "real me". I wet my bed until I was twelve. Ooh, I need to work on that. I suppose this will just naturally happen if I stick with weekly posts. We'll see.

The artwork is starting with a bang. This year I already finished a small, but cool piece. I managed to achieve a look that I have been trying to accomplish for years. The combination of an initial "fish eye" style illustration, well placed polka dots, and the use of gray scale markers with wreck less abandon, really helped me nail it. I'll be in the studio tonight and just about every night this week. Check my progress on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/JAG-III/121818188748) in between blog posts.

Halloween and The Cheese Castle

Alright jack wagons, I'm back and I'm bad, baby. Took a short break from reality but now I'm back with new vigor! The shows I did in Milwaukee and Chicago went awesome (pictures),  but took it all out of me and needed a week to get it back together. I suppose the beer with every meal and 2lbs of cheese I consumed (thanks a lot Mars Cheese Castle) in Wisconsin didn't help.  The good news is I've used this weird energy to nearly finish a piece I've been working on for almost 3 years. You can see the progress on my JAG III Facebook fan page.
Halloween has come and gone. Because we couldn't get a sitter we missed some cool parties and Art exhibits but we managed to have a great time at the dojo anyway. Much to my delight my 4 year old son decided he wanted to be a Zombie Skeleton this year. Although it was a bit strange seeing him with an exposed ribcage exclaiming that he wanted to "eat my brain", it was cool. To my shock, after about ten houses, he said he was done and asked if we could go home and play Wii. The family unit spent the remainder of the night eating Carmel apples and playing games. When I kissed him good night, he said he had an awesome day and that my breath stunk. That made it all worth while.

I think that's it for now. Don't forget to visit my website, there are lots of mugs and a new shirt design is available. I'll have another one up before Christmas. If you would rather get one through me directly, email me john@jagiii.com.

The Deadly Update

Going to Milwaukee early tomorrow for an art exhibit. I have been to Wisconsin a number of times but I've only been through Milwaukee one time that I remember. The highlight was riding past Jeffery Dahmers apartment and the Ambrosia candy factory where he worked. It's rumored he dropped small pieces of human flesh into chocolate vats. Nice. I kinda have a sick fascination with that whole thing. When I was in rural Wisconsin I drove past Ed Geins (basis for leather face) house, it was leveled but still gave me the creeps. Also, a little closer to home, I've driven by John Wayne Gacys house, it was many years ago and they were excavating again. I also go out of my way to drive by the apartments where Richard Spec killed those nurses in Chicago. Those apartments are now section 8 and I'm pretty sure that the people living there have no idea what happened in their bedroom, until they are up late one night watching TV and Bill Curtis tells them. Oh yeah, now that I'm thinking about it, two of my favorite books are Bundy and The Green River Killer. Oh yeah, and I frequent the graves of Bernie Mac (Actor/comedian), Koko Taylor (blues legend), Dinah Washington (singer), Emmet Till (civil right marter) and Gene Krupa(big band drummer), all buried near my house. I just might be fucked up. Who does that? Regardless I think my fascination with the macabre is a healthy one. I also think this is another part of me that ends up in my art work. Another reason my art is so unique, and after 15 years, I still have seen no other work like mine.
This isn't the post I was planning on writing but that's what makes it fun. I got a huge weekend. I hope to see some of you at one my appearances (if I didn't just scare the shit out of you). Details on where I'll be and future shows can always be found at www.jagiii.com . Rock on.

Broke ass shades

This is bullshit! I sat on my favorite sunglasses today. Cracked 'em right in half. I've been trying to figure out a way to still wear them, they kinda have a cool eye patch look to them now. Well if that's the worst thing that happens to me I guess I got it pretty good.
Pretty reflective weekend for me. Went to a memorial/wake for an uncle of mine on Saturday. He had been sick for a long time and this really wasn't a surprise.  I have to say my family sure knows how to celebrate a passing. There was lots of good booze and good conversation with relatives, that unfortunately, I only see on occasions like this. It's nice to know that when I go there is going to be one hell of a party. I think I would like to be cremated from the waist up, and then have my ashes cut up into lines and snorted off my ass. That would be nice (I just want to see who's actually paying attention). At any rate mortality is a bitch.
I spent a lot of time this weekend trying to understand a few of my recent accounts I set up, Google plus and this blog for example. I think I am going to interconnect all my social media. Between Face book, Twitter, Google plus, Linked In, the blog, yadda, yadda, it's all getting a little redundant. Although I know it's all good exposure it's exhausting and I don't want to burn out.
So I nailed down the Milwaukee gig for next week and apparently it's going to be a pretty big deal. It's going to be in an office/loft space inside this rehabbed warehouse. Full bar, live music and 10% of what  I make goes to feed the hungry. I love a good cause. I'm showing with 2 other artists and I might even finish a new one before the show. Hope to see some of you there. Details should be up on the site by now, www.jagiii.com.

Thanks for checking out my stuff, I gotta bounce, I have a roast in the oven. Seriously. I'll talk about that and many other delicious details next time. Peace!