Post #224323 by ikitnrev on Fri, Mar 31, 2006 7:02 PM

Thanks for all the nice comments. I knew from the start that this had the potential to turn out very well, and your statements of approval are appreciated. A big-eyed portrait sure beats having your high school portrait hanging on the wall!

A painting like this might not fit in a traditional decor tiki room, but it is perfect for my setting, which focuses more on the 60's pop side of tiki, rather than traditional Polynesian tiki. I think of this painting as being somewhat like a tattoo - a mixture of portrait and symbols, declaring how I see myself at a certain point in time, except it is something that I can hang on a wall, rather than carry on my skin. (wouldn't it be weird if I did ask a tattoo artist to tatto the entire thing on my back?)

What is neat is that I have several other thrifted Keane big-eye prints, at least one which is of the exact same size with similar frame and matting -- so someday I imagine that I will place my portrait next to a sad-eyed blonde waif, with tears in her eyes, holding her equally sad cat. And I will be there, offering her a sip from my tiki mug.

I should add that the price I paid for this portrait was a little higher than Vicki's standard price, mainly because of the added detail she put into the painting. This didn't bother me though, as I was willing to pay a bit more to make this as personalized as I could.

I do hope that others choose the path to get a similar painting done. I think a family portrait in this style would look really cool!

Vern