My first tiki

Aloha everybody, I've been lurking around here for about a week and decided to try my first tiki carving. I gotta say I can respect you carvers out there, it isn't easy but I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. I carved it from a piece of my neighbors tree that fell into my fence during the last hurricane to plow through here. I don't know what kind of tree it is(was), maybe some type of elm?
The wood wasn't too hard to carve, considering I did it with a hammer and two dull chisels. the one thing I'm unhappy with is that it got really darker than I wanted when I polyurethaned it. What's the secret to keeping the wood lighter upon finishing? I like the contrast of whiter wood against the burnt black.
Anyway, let me know how I did on my first try:

Excellent for first try, or 2nd, 3rd fourth for that matter

Welcome to TC Filippi.
Our legendary member Purple Jade resides in New Awleeinz.

Cool thanks for the compliments!
I'll keep a look out for my fellow N'Awlins tikimates.

good job, i like the black in the back ground really makes the features stand out. keep them coming

Very cool and unique! If it's your 1st try, you're kicking tail!

http://www.samgambino.com

Thanks again for the positive comments, I'm starting a new one this weekend.
Yes this is my first tiki, I'm a graphic designer with an art degree, it's not my first "sculpture" but it is my first try at wood carving and tiki art. I do have lots of finishing questions about what types of polyurethane and varnishes you guys use, especially on the ones that the wood stays light.

And this is for Sam, I absolutely love your work. Where do you get your type, is it hand done? Is your tiki work commissioned or mostly for fun? Great stuff, your type is excellent!!

Thanks Tiki Filippi. A lot of the text in my tiki signs is hand drawn - but some are actual fonts. All of it is based on or influenced by retro fonts, though. I do quite a bit of commissioned illustrations, but I also sometimes can't resist doing odd, fun pieces that probably only I care about. Being able to create something like that makes the activity of painting interesting for me.

Awesome Sam, my wife and I were designers in the art studio at Fossil Watches for a while so your style really caught our attention. She does some hand drawn retro type when she gets the chance in between all the corporate type of work we do to pay the bills.
I can definitely relate to doing what makes it interesting for you. This is where the carving became an interest for me and where your type and illustration style has sparked an influence back to the retro designer in myself and Mrs Filippi. Maybe we'll have some tiki print designs to contribute sometime soon as well.

Thanks, Tiki Filippi. Speaking of Fossil, at one time, I was asked to paint 2 large brick walls with the Fossil logo in one of the Fossil outlet stores. The object was to paint with dull latex paint so that it looked as though it was weathered and worn. It turned out being an enjoyable job at the time. I always enjoyed looking at the graphics on those Fossil tins too. That's great work!

Tikifilippi, One thing about eurathanes is they usually "Yellow" or Darken the wood . One way to Limit this is look for finishes that go on Crystal clear. Another thing is to sand the piece down to 220 or 350 grit sand paper. the rougher the finish the darker the finish will look. Some woods just darken up when they get the finish coat. You can try wiping the lighter part of the wood with bleach and leave your black part alone. When it dries the bleached wood will be Noticably lighter and the bleach won't hurt the wood. Just allow it to thoroughly dry before applying the finish. Hope this helps and don't be afraid to ask anytime.

And for SammyG, "but I also sometimes can't resist doing odd, fun pieces that probably only I care about."???? Why don't you let US be the judge of that. I'd be willing to bet there isn't Anything you do that we wouldn't like. We're "Sam Fans" you know...

Hey Sam, cool! I love the look of their painted walls. In the corporate office they had a few of those painted brick walls. Must have been fun to work on. My wife was fortunate enough to be able to design a series of Fossil tins while we were working there, they're still one of the highlights of her portfolio. Do you live/work in Richardson close to Fossil?

Benzart, this is just the info I was looking for!! I finished the tiki with a really rough grit of sandpaper and used Minwax ploy which looks really yellow in the can. Plus the bleach trick, I feel so enlightened. Thanks a bunch for this info. I'll be sure to apply these techinques to my next tiki. Can you recommed a brand of finish that comes in a crystal clear? Thanks again!!

I knew you guys were going to be a great resource the minute I found this board.

Thanks a lot for your nice words, Ben. I have a few crackpot ideas for paintings on standby. When they come to pass, I'll post them here, and we'll see then!

Tiki Filippi, those tins are so cool. They still catch my eye while walking by the watch case in the store. I was never sure if those were completely created just for Fossil or if they were actually old pieces of artwork that had been altered for Fossil.

Very cool - Kind of a "vampire" looking tiki, isn't it? I just got started myself, and carving palm is definitely not as easy as it looks. Very satisfying, though. It definitely excersises your left brain to transition from 2-D drawings to 3-D carvings. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Aaron, I'd like to see some of your work too.

I like the vampire teeth as well.
I guess Anne Rice is not the only New Orleans resident to feature vampires in their art ...

Signed,
Mdm. Laveau, IX

tiki filippi
Nice work, can't wait to see more.
You must get your talent from your mom.

luv ya,
free ki tiki aka - your mom

Yeah, we're big vampire fans down here. Trying that whole cross culture thing between romantic New Orleans and Polynesian Pacific with a little Americana retro (baseball, apple pie, mom) thrown into the mix. Hey, wait a minute I think I'm onto a style here.

Hi Mom - Great to here from you! That's quite a son you have there! He is courteous AND he "works well with others." It's cool that you are here - I'm very "pro-Mom" myself! :) :)

http://www.samgambino.com

Well Filipi, I was going to drop you a link to my posting, but I see you've already been there. Check out the AAC, I think it will work well for you.