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Tiki Central / General Tiki / Please Fill me in on tiki artist Andres Bumatay

Post #557281 by Sabu The Coconut Boy on Fri, Oct 1, 2010 1:53 PM

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MadDog - I think this is a great idea; to accumulate the various pictures of Bumatay and Bumatay-inspired tikis all in one place for easy viewing. Also, make sure to search TC using the spelling "Bumatai" as well as "Bumatay", as both are used.

Another interesting fact we learned back in 2005 was that many tikis attributed to Andy Bumatay were actually carved by his apprentice, Richard M. Ellis, who learned woodcarving from Bumatay in the 50s, and went on to carve hundreds of tikis and decorate many restaurants on his own. His style is similar enough to be indistinguishable from Bumatay's to this non-carver's eyes. The tiki at the Stockton Islander and the famous mug that was designed from it are attributed to Richard Ellis.

Here's the thread on the Latitude 20 in Las Vegas that elicited some really neat information from Richard Ellis' daughter, Annie Ellis:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=15398&forum=1&start=30

And here's some more info:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=4848&forum=2&vpost=240683

That being said, with the knowledge that some of these might be Richard Ellis tikis, here's a few more pictures:

:down: Bumatay-style tikis attributed to Richard Ellis by his daughter, from the Trade Winds in Oxnard, CA


:up: Richard Ellis actually carving the tiki in the first picture

:down: Richard Ellis also did the tikis for the Tonga Lei in Malibu, so this one is probably his as well:

:down: Even Milan Guanko did tikis that were reminiscent of Bumatay's style. Here's one from the "Whispering Lakes" apartments, near the Royal Tahitian in Ontario, CA:

...and the middle one here from the Kapu Kai in Cucamonga, CA that has a similar feel:

Vintage bowls with Bumatay-style feet that inspired Gecko's "Mt Bumatay" bowl:

#74 in this catalog:

In front of The Sea & Jungle store:

:down: The Polynesian Village apartments in Playa del Rey:

:down: The Kona Pali apartments, Granada Hills:

:down: Part of an antique store's stock in Philadelphia that probably came from either the Pub Tiki or Langerman's Luau.


[ Edited by: Sabu The Coconut Boy 2010-10-01 17:15 ]