Post #375516 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Apr 22, 2008 9:28 PM

Well I think the above guy qualifies for a side genre of the "mistaken Tiki paint jobs", similar to the Tiki Bob and the Kona Kai Tiki in my very first post that began this thread.

Maybe it is time to carefully introduce the subject of WHAT kind of paint job might actually be permissible on Tikis, or better, on Oceanic Art reproductions:

Example Nr. 1:
This PNG/Disney/Skull carving is one of the first two pieces I ever purchased at Oceanic Arts, when I discovered them in 1989. It is a fine example of the kind of care that classic Polynesian pop artists originally put into pieces that WERE painted:

Taking cues from Papua New Guinea art, the paints were washed out earth pigment type of choices that were rubbed off again, AND enriched with dirt and dust -in essence expert "primitive art" forging. This piece's color scheme looks much more authentic than O.A.'s later "Night of The Tiki" phase. This is how this carving came off the shelf, it has been hanging INSIDE since I purchased it (most of the time).

Example Nr.2:
Now Marquesan/Tahitian style Tikis should not be painted at all, but IF they are, which of these two is the more pleasing application, A.) or B.)?:

A.)

B.)

This fine looking Tiki trio actually stood/ is standing in Tahiti. Now I could not discern if the B.) look was actual paint, applied several coats later, or if it was a similar period photo than A.) that just had the hell colorized out of it in a photo shop program. In any case, In my opinion A.) probably would look acceptable once the initial paint job had become weathered, while B.) would never look good under any circumstances.

This said, this style of Tiki should really not be painted at all.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2008-04-22 21:46 ]