Post #296371 by Tiki Shark Art on Mon, Apr 2, 2007 1:19 PM

First off, I was told, by someone whom I've forgotten, that everything an artist draws or paints is actually a self portrait. So, I guess this is a painting of me. Beyond that, I know that all artist's are greatly effected by their surroundings. After I've moved here to the BI I've gotten a much better look at tropical plants. ( OK my palms trees need work, I know) And, obviously, the cruise ship is from looking out my window: four days out of the week one or another Cruise ship is anchored off Kona Bay. The puppy is a reference to the pet that the lady who commissioned the piece owns. She's an older lady and her life is all about that cute little dog, that barely ever touches the ground, cause she carries it everywhere. Even when she takes it for a walk. I guess, it's actually taking her for a walk then. The painting is called "The Tourist". It was meant as a double meaning. The first meaning is that the puppy is the tourist. It was brought to this tropical paradise by the cruise ship, visited a local exotic place, attended a luau, and it just chowed down in a major way. Everything a "tourist" wants on a vacation. The second meaning is more like "find the tourist in this picture" Well, there's the ship that brought the tourist, there's the exotic local the tourist visited, there's the tourist's dog, and... looks like the locals just had a big cook out of some sort and have all retired to the hut, while their local god watches the puppy clean up the scraps. Hmmm... that bone, looks a bit large for pig. Perhaps "Long Pig"? Well, where is that tourist? That is a mystery! ( and actually, now, I like Professor Grog's explanation better! ) Sorry Ken, I guess there is always gonna be different ways to interpret a painting, but that's the ideas that started the work. I can't actually say they are what it's about now that I've finished it (almost) . BUT, what Todd Schorr said made me think about the tikis and symbols in my paintings. I'm not painting traditional carved Hawaiian Ti'i. Not even close, nor do I want to try. I'm painting symbols from MY understood mythology - Americanized tikis that I saw growing up in the Midwest and California, and much later, the more traditional looking ones I saw in Hawaii. It takes a lot of pressure off me, I thought I had to be part historian on Hawaiian anthropology. Not really, I just have to interpret Hawaiian culture and the world as it sifts through the filter that is my brain, and down out my paint slingers. So the only thing I really have to do is keep slinging paint. Anyways, Let's just hope I can finish it today.......
Thanks for looking!