Post #450671 by Travellin' Tiki on Thu, Apr 30, 2009 12:56 AM

I love the melancholy mood of "The Mystery of Music" and appreciate that it is set outside of a canoe. Beautiful work.

First Robb, thank you so much for posting. I was blown away by your work when I stumbled on it on TC a while ago and continue to be so--always stunning and inspiring. :) And believe me, I'm the first to admit, sure, maybe I have a bit of a canoe problem, but I've got it under control... It's not like it's a real problem or anything... I can totally handle it... I don't NEED to paint canoes, I just WANT to... I can stop any time I want... I swear...

Or maybe I should take this opportunity to admit publicly something you've all known for a while now... that I'm totally, shamelessly, remorselessly addicted to canoe imagery.

"The Blue Canoe"
8" x 16" Acrylic on Black Velvet
Not sold. Please PM me for details.

"Tiki Demon"
5" x 7" Acrylic on Black Velvet
This was a commission piece for a friend.

There's just something so "Heart of Darkness" about black velvet. The way it surrounds its subject with such utter perfect blackness--to me it just screams: hapless wanderers paddling off into uncharted realms!

For me, the image of the canoe can be a symbol of moving forward, shaking off the past, confronting the abyss of the unknown. It can denote a sense of being lost, adrift, un-anchored; or one of knowing exactly where you're going. It's paddlers can embark upon a long and uncertain journey. Or it can usher them home to the familiar safety of the tribe. If tiki is the soul, canoe is the body!

That said, I am doing my best to overcome my ritual obsession with painting canoes, and I hope to make a full recovery. In homage to that, may I present (I even set up a little altar for him):

The Cryptkeeper's Mask
12" x 12" Acrylic on Black Velvet
Not sold. Please PM me for details.

Thanks to everyone else who replied to this most recent post and also to posts past. I was in a mad dash to finish my accounting for tax time these past two weeks (Canadian tax time) but that is officially done! Of course I'm a little behind on everything else now, but I'm sneaking in a few minutes to wax poetic about canoes and post here again (finally!)

I've been really bad about not giving personal replies on this thread but I hope this post will help me turn over a new leaf and remedy that. Making art is such a remarkably solitary job most of the time, and one of the best parts is being able to break out of your little art-bubble when you finish something and share your art with other people. Thanks for being such a receptive audience!

Thanks for your encouragement Clarita!

Andy--Mahalo! I should have known you would dig this piece. :) I just realized I haven't posted the little seafarer here yet... mind if I do?

BigToe--I'm glad you like the colors, I'm definitely experimenting more now that I'm getting more used to the medium. And "kidnapped" is one of my favs too... I wish I'd painted that one to keep!

That's it girls and boys!
My canoe awaits. See you on the other side!
Mahalo,
Heather

[ Edited by: Travellin' Tiki 2009-04-30 01:28 ]