Post #557548 by Club Nouméa on Sun, Oct 3, 2010 2:53 AM

The next stage was to paint the inside wall of the tiki bar. I used Glanmore by British Paints.

The work commences:

I went for a two-tone look in the room, with mid-green behind the bar, and the kitchen area in very light green (although it looks like white in these photos):

I already had these customised, heavy-duty curtains over the kitchen window, so painting the whole room the same colour would have been too imposing:

The paint matches the curtains, which match the tiles, so it all seems to tie in together OK.

The kitchen area is not particularly tiki-style, although the pictures tie it in with the rest of the room:

I'm going to see if I can find some appropriately patterned tiles for that back wall behind the stove though - something in a Pacific style that is also functional (to catch grease and steam).

The bar is now basically finished, although doubtless more clutter will be added over time:

The googly-eyed mask over the drinks shelves is from the poster of the tapa exhibition that was held in Te Papa Museum in Wellington (ended last month). For a while back there, this guy had his image plastered all over Wellington.

Alongside him is an image of the Rocher à la Voile (Sail Rock), which also features in the picture window I created on the other side of the bar (see earlier photos). Back in the days of passenger sailing ships and steamboats, the inhabitants of Nouméa used to ride down to the beach at the point opposite this rock and wave farewell to their loved ones sailing for far-off destinations like Indochina, Tahiti, and France.

Other New Caledonian pictures include one of a roussette (flying fox):

To this day, roussettes are considered to be a delicacy by the Kanaks. I have never had the nerve to try one.

Above the kitchen bench is a picture of Kanak flèches faitières (finials):

These carvings are attached to the central pole of Kanak huts. Their design differs from tribe to tribe and from region to region. The one depicted in the middle is from Hienghène, and bears more than a passing resemblance to the one I have over the bar:

The pictures behind the bar are not all to do with New Caledonia though:

The generic Pacific art on the right was made in Auckland, and the one on the left is by me ("Entering Tiki Cove"):

Then there is the "Moruroa Triptych" over the door (French nuclear test photos compiled by me):

And my matching '70s spice racks have been tikified by association:

Here too there is a mix of my art ("Marquesan Boy & Idol"), postcards of Nouméa and Port Vila...:

... along with "After Gauguin" (by Bobby Holcomb), Miss Tahiti 1962, and Betty Page:

That's one way of reminding me to use my spices...

This brings the baseline work of tikifying the bar area to a close. From here on in, what will be involved is detail work and accumulating clutter.

CN

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Toto, j'ai l'impression que nous ne sommes plus au Kansas !

[ Edited by: Club Nouméa 2010-10-05 00:44 ]