Post #231269 by Bay Park Buzzy on Tue, May 9, 2006 10:40 PM

My booth at Oasis was right across from painter Adam Kilss' booth. He had some real quality oils and the frames were really neat too. When he was setting up his booth, I checked out how he made his bamboo frames. I was expecting a New Yankee Workshop in scope project, but was surprised to see how easy and logically intuitive the construction process of it was. On Monday, I really wanted to start carving right away, but I lost my mallet somewhere over the weekend. So, instead, I made two frames for a couple of paintings I did a while ago. I noticed how much alcohol consumption, bar accessories, and tiki themed merchandise were all entwined with one another at the show; this is my attempt to create something different than I have been doing to date, but is well within the parameters of the ever broadening realm of the tiki universe

This is an oil on canvas of a neon light restaurant sign in my neighborhood. I made the frames with some giant bamboo that I got from the tree service, based on the ones that Adam Kliss made for his paintings.

This is another painting I did of the the same sign, but I changed the top and bottom to stained wood to use as shelves. In this picture, I threw a couple shot glasses and a wood carving up to show the intent of this design.

My idea was that in a home tiki bar type setting, the first painting would be placed in the dining or sitting area, while the second painting would be behind the bar next to a real neon sign, displaying a shot glass selection. It's like installation art...What next???
I have full step by step photos of making these if anyone cares to see how I did it. It's super easy to do and actually involves some minor carving if you are a detail obssessed freak like myself. Just ask and I'll post them soon.