Post #310598 by little lost tiki on Sat, Jun 2, 2007 10:11 PM

Hey Gang!
What an exhausting week,following an exhausting weekend....Well, at least i got a lil bit of painting done to share with you....but first, i'd like to respond to some of your lovely posts.....
Tama: You've been cooking on some carvings in a major way lately! Naples Yellow does Rock! It rocks harder than the devil in the Tenacious D movie! Indigo and Sepia are close second.....The beard...yes,the beard...I made it real long in that one because that was the "Old Age" stage of the four paintings...Check out the middle Age and you'll see it's not as long...When i was working on my End-Times pieces a few years back,all the Angels had these huge long stylized beards to denote their age,grace,and 'cause it worked visually to give the pieces that 3-dimensional meets flat Indian miniature meets Greek Vase painting style I loves so much!
Gene: Why is it "Mean Gene"? You're one of the friendliest guys I know...Curious....Big Daddy R-dot says "Hi",you mean Rusty? I haven't seen that man in at least 4-5 years! What a truly friendly and open guy! I miss the old days (1989-95) working on tees,graphics,and prints all day,when all of a sudden,Rusty would walk in and plop down some Art books to look at and get inspiration! He has that pure love for art and he's such a nice guy! Tell him "Hello!" for me...Small world!
Clarita: I think you would make splendid mugs..There's a hard dense wax Squid told me about that they use for making the molds...I think a mug,especially from a brilliant carver like yourself,is a lot easier than you think!There's a lot of genius sculptors and carvers who would be able to steer you in the right direction...If they give you any trouble, remind them of the TC Mutual Inspiration Pact! Haven't shown this in person to Ben yet, but I plan to soon!
Jonesy:
Hey Braddah!
Nice Prarie Dog Pirate! Save him for the next Tonga Hut thread!
Rousin me about 3 days laggin....C'mon man! I try to post at least once a week-weeknahalf.Like i said earlier,last weekend was a doozy-between work and TC stuff! Plus, i got a friend who's staying at my studio for a few weeks til their home in SanFran is ready..that's always a time-sucker! Usually, it's "arrive at the studio-get supplies/reference/tuneage/coffee ready-paint-smoke-drink coffee-potty-repeat for at least a quiet 5-6 hours...that's how i get most of my work done...Now it's all riddled with little things,bustin up my serenity time...I think solitude and quiet-inner quiet/stillness/contemplation is a necessity for at least 2-4 hours at least twice a week..so get use to this for a few...there are so many Art Einsteins in Creating and Carving that you should just be called "Travellin",cause i know that TC always fulfills my art jonez when I need a quick fix!
greentikipat:Mahalo!You've been cookin out the goodies as well lately! Those Happy Cannibals,that uber-schweet black velvet painting-and now the mermaid/cannibal piece! Man! You never stop!That cramped warrior is pretty funny,glad you like him! One of those mistake pieces that is just too funny not to share! When I first started seriously drawing and painting,this would happen all the time! Compositional nightmares,staggering beasts and stumbling figures...then i started looking at both Primitive Arts and Old Masters and Outsider Art-searching and seeking balance/flow/direction/composition,and relating that back to my own pieces...Sometimes the most awkward stuff had more realism or impact or emphasis,while some (only some...) of the Old Master's work expressed profound beauty visually and geometrically,it didn't have that RAW kind of grace...So now,years later,I flip a coin and either draw out a composition or let the clumsy instincts just flow... Funny how we both noticed those special parts of the pieces (ie: the back of the headdress on your bamboo KU/you diggin the hands in "the Watchers" Hilarious! It's that artist spirit,connecting all us misfits like an invisible celestial thread....If you're into art history,or history in general,there's lotsa times when certain ideas or thoughts just connect a lotta people into the same vibe..Now with the computer age,these ideas can be processed faster as we spiral towards the unknown!
Back to the hands-well, let's just look at the finished piece and we'll talk about it then...or not!
"the Watchers" gouache and puff paint over Bamboon Ben sign...

Sorry for the slight sheen on the right-i need to give it a good matte coat over the satin sheen...
Here's some details-going from top to bottom....

You can see the ribal motif i put all the way around-kinda like a mat to separate it from the bamboo...You can also see the areas where i put in puff paint to raise up the surface and give it a more exciting vibe...also a spooky wee ancestor skull at the very top...

How many tiki faces total? I still don't even know..(and don't even turn it upside down! trust me)

I like the lips and eyes on the shield-make me smile!

and there's my little Tangata Manu friends with their elegant swooping hands resting on their.....chins? Do Birdmen have Chins?
And of course, I had to start that CD cover for my friend....

Here's what I got so far..the blackline part..I tried to do a study first of the whole composition
but essentially just winged it-I started with an ink stained canvas,drew out the elements freehand with my handy dandy water-soluble pencil...Used the indigo/navy decocolor paintpen for the outlines,after drying-you get a wet towel,and wipe off the pencil...WITHOUT A TRACE!
Then I sealed it for the first time...the sealant i use sometimes picks up the ink and parts of the paintpen, so it's extra careful time...

Check out the tiki's hands-that's what I'm talkin about! Minor repairs here and ther,and the more you seal it, the more coverage the ink gets and so it don't mess with you as much!

Here's the Hut,you can see the yellow has been added a bit,that's the kind of coloration this whole thing will get eventually!

Here's the Polynesian Butterfly girl with a butterfly on her hand and a few more flying around.You can see a bit of scuffing on her leg...that won't be there for long....

And here's a closeup of the Hut...It's getting late and I've had a rough day,so I think I will bid you all goodnight and crawl in there for a good night's sleep...Adieu!