Born in 1911, and died in 1973, Jerry was a sailor for most of his lifetime. He resided in Hawaii, where he had access to the great mysticism of the far east... he kept in close contact with the Japanese tattoo masers, and learned much from them.
He practiced his early tattoo art during a period in tattoo history when only sailors, bikers and social deviants got tattoos. He elevated the art of tattoo to a new level of respectability, and perfected methods of sterilization. He referred to the other tattoo practitioners working in less sanitary conditions as "scab artists".
He is most famous for his girly tattoos, his demon tattoos, she-devils, etc. Jerry really perfected the concept of the pin up girl as the the supervixen that would lead a poor sailor down the path to his destruction. She, in combination with liquor, gambling and fast cars, would come to be known as "man's ruin".
Sailor Jerry mentored such modern day tattoo masters as Ed Hardy, Cliff Raven and Mike Malone. Ed Hardy and Mike Malone inherited the rights to all of Jerry's tattoo flash art and tattoo drawings!
With the resurgence in popularity of old school tattoos, Jerry's vintage pinup girls have become iconic. There is a line of products sporting his images now.. from clothing, ashtrays and playing cards, to 92 proof rum! Talk about ubiquitous and iconic-- I even saw his rum the other day at Rite Aid drug store!
Stacy Lande is a Los Angeles based artist, and her pin up art is most often placed in the lowbrow catagory. Her book, THE RED BOX, from Last Gasp press, features introductions from Robert Williams and Frank Kozik. Stacy has had a lifelong obsession with pin up girls, and her erotic paintings explore the more allegorical side of pinups. Her subjects are femme fatales and devil girls, and her fascination with the succubus has prompted her work to be described as "predatory pinups". Stacy's paintings have been featured in magazine articles, notably Juxtapoz, Detour, and Hot Rod Deluxe; films, notably Gone in 60 Seconds starring Angelina Jolie and Nicholas cage; and art books, such as Weirdo Deluxe, from Chronicle Books, and Vicious, Delcious, and Ambitious, from Schiffer Books.