Little lost Tiki's Art Chronicles and Stuffs! Page 70!A brief Return,BUT! Some new pieces to Delight YOU!!!

Really nice tree

hey those are amazing paintings! that requires skill right there. what kind of paint you use?
good job

Thanks y'all!
It's been such a pleasure meeting new artists and aficionados! The "Family Tree" piece is basically gouache mixed with gesso and applied to the wood-sanded if you want-lightly.I usually mix the colors with big strokes for the background-then i paint it in -just shapes -still kinda abstract-then I bust out the gouache or in this case I used my sumi ink brush pen-so I don't have to keep on dippin my brush-then go over the highlights and stuff with gouache then I seal it.These ones are pretty easy! I can get one or two of these done a night when I get the time! Thanks for asking!Hope this helped! Let's see what you make with this recently declassified information!

Green Warrior-acrylic and paintpen on wood

visit http://www.kenruzic.com and you will smile.

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-06-30 06:42 ]

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-07-12 09:00 ]

Here's another posting for you to enjoy! This one was made for my wife who loves butterflies.

"the Visit" gouache on wood

On 2006-06-17 09:28, little lost tiki wrote:
-(I've only painted 3 boards so if anyone knows a better way to remove wax...

Go to a surf shop that advertises ding repairs. Go ask the ding repair dude for the wax remover cloths that he uses. Most stores do not sell them retail if they do not have on site ding repairs. You basically let your board sit in the sun for about five minutes, then scrape the wax off with a wax comb, and then use the wet nap looking things that you get from the surf shop and your board will be clean in moments. Most ding repair guys that do alot of work will have these handy for personal use and most will sell them to you if you ask. I cannot find mine right now so I can't give you a brand name, but they are specifically made for wax removal when you repair dings and it works real quick, so any ding repair guy will know what you are talking about .Or, if you have more money than time, ask a ding repair guy for an estimate on how much it would be to refurbish it himself. Most ding repair guys I know live in their trucks out behind the glass shop they work at, saving money to fly to Bali in a month, so they are prone to bargaining if you get them at the right time. Ding repair is hugely profitable, so there is always room to barter with these guys.
As far as doing small ding repair yourself, at the consumer level there is stuff called "Solarez( available at almost every real surf shop-not mall/inland clothes places) that is a resin that cures in the sun. It comes in a toothpaste tube looking thing. You squeeze out the clear rez and cover it with saran wrap while in the sun. It immediately starts to thicken and can be molded to shape for about 3-5 minutes. After about 12 minutes in the sun, you can sand it down flush with the original glass. this is much quicker for small dings than reglassing, and less expensive.
Nice work too, hope this helps.
Buzzy

Thanks Buzzy!
I just knew there was someone here who knew an easier way! Thanks so much! With this information out now, there should be a renaissance of freshly cleaned-newly painted boards in a couple of days!Like the Thor cover! I grew up in the late 60's to old Jack Kirby-pencils/Vince Colletta (?)-inked Thors and Fantastic Fours! That was about the time John Romita started his brilliant work on Spiderman! Man, If it weren't for comics,I would have had a regular childhood!Thanks again for your clear and easy solution-No more Bestine! This will free me up for at least 2 more paintings a year!

More cool work man! Loving it more the more I see it :)

I love "The Goon" comic... He goes around beating people up, in a town that has heaps of zombies... Kool :)

Hey Hewey!Comics rule! Could you post a pic of the Goon when you got time??History.Art,and Comic Books supplied my visual interests as a youth bigtime!Bet I'm not alone!

Tiki Comic covers:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19181&forum=1

I really Love that "The Visit", LLTiki, it is very intense.

Thanks y'all!
Buzzy-that comic book cover thread just took me back to my days of reading,drawing,and teenage vandalism!Thanks for the skinny on that thread!Benzart and Hewey-It really puts a smile on me mug to hear such encouragement from fellow tiki-peers! I hope these bring you a bit of Tiki inspiration!Here's a fat Blue Tiki to liven up all this typing!Found the wood at a thrift shop with a lame "What a Father is" poem affixed to it! A little bit of gesso and gouache,a pinch of self-portrait,and a dollop of tiki mana and here he is!

Cool man :)

The Goon:
http://www.thegoon.com/g2.html

Goon Gallery
http://www.thegoon.com/gallery.html

Hey Hewe!
His face is almost Moai-like! Those 1st few pix look like a mix between Boris/Frazetta/and Corman(fm Heavy Metal mag)There's just too my much great stuff out there! Thanks for the Goon scoop!

"Blue Hawaii"

Here's an oldie but a goodie painting about the little lost tiki who is just on the edge of despair when the fish begin to sing and lift his spirit.

Here's one that's hot off the presses! Just finished it yesterday! It's called "the Sun visits the Happy Hut"

Enjoy Ohana!
visit http://www.kenruzic.com and you will ,hopefully, be amused.

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-07-08 20:53 ]

awesome work...i like that the sun's smile is behind it's eyes...smart & subtle

Thanks Miles!
How are those graphite/wash drawings on the tea-stained paper going?
What kind of stories are you painting for your history and heritage of California?Are you going way back?There's a lotta funny folk-tales/men of stature kinda stuff with the Gold Rush/wimmen outlaws/the Mexican-American War/the robber barons/etc! It'll be cool to see what your overactive brain comes up with! You're an inspiration to many,kooche-keep up the great work and never forget to challenge yourself!
Great i-pod skinz by the way! My fave is the tapa w/ the kids & the pool and the hula girl!Makes me wish I could afford an ipod! Always Keep Painting! Here's some details from the above piece! Love it when you put details up-helps us figger out how you do it! Thanks again kooche!

visit http://www.kenruzic.com and you will ,hopefully, be inspired.

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-07-09 21:57 ]

hey that is really amazing. its so unique and different. what are you using to make those? whatever it is its good. keep it up

On 2006-07-11 21:18, Tiki Duddy wrote:
what are you using to make those? whatever it is its good. keep it up

I dont know what materials, but I suspect some illicit drugs are involved... :)

More awesome work man!

Hey friends!
Thanks y'all for writing! Hewey,I' got the invites and we're mailing them out this weekend. I'll send you a bill for extra postage! :D
To quote Salvador Dali "Dali doesn't use drugs-Dali is drugs." The mind is a terrible thing not to challenge! Read! Read! Read! That is my drug lately! Being an ex-marine(1982-86),the discipline doesn't hurt either! Of course, cigarettes,and coffee. I wouldn't think of indulging in pakalolo! :wink: I made this one witha 3x3 museum wrapped canvas.First I did the sketchbook study-then I look at the canvas and gel and read for a bit and look thru old sketchbooks for characters/landscapes I can glean inspiration,then maybe some reading,then 2-3 cigarettes,maybe a nap(short one)then I decide on the idea and sketch it out with water-soluble pencils(usually a light ochre-tan to warm up the undercoating) From there you can do your underpainting shading-then I went over this one in washes of gouache,and then regular goache in areas for highlights.For the black outline I used my trusty sumi ink brush pen(I'd tell you the brand but I can't read Japanese)and did all the final blackline and shading on the foreground,then again over that in areas for "pop".The background I simply used a hunter green for the land to set it back from the foreground.Still did the background palms in the sumi ink but with no shading so the foreground would come forward even still.Lastly,I use white and naples yellow gouache for the hi-lights-to give the sun more glow and such. Thanks for checking out the new work. My monkey mind and frantic hands are twitching to create something else!Here's a painting called "Tiki Curing a Headache"Mahalo!

little lost tiki - That´s a nice one! What size is it?
How much do you sell your paintings for?

Your work goes hand in hand with my happy morning outlook.
Thank you so much for sharing another awesome piece of art!

Hi Toonz!
The above piece "Tiki Curing a Headache"is about 2x1" and I sold it for $300.The work I'm having at the August 5th show is gonna range from $50 for tinted drawings/sketchbook entries all the way up to 3 grand for the 4'x6' pieces.I usually paint ALOT of smaller pieces just so people can bring a small piece home.I'll also be selling a Tiki Coloring Book and a collection of sketchbook tiki stuff and other goodies just so people can leave with something.I'm offering 6 limited edition prints starting at the show-those are printed on canvas 19000 dpi or something crazy like that museum wrapped and hand-embellished when needed and those also will give people an opportunity to have a piece of art for their wall and not put up a second mortgage.As the work increase in value,I'm always trying to find a way to still let a lot of people own art.It takes creativity and hard work-but you know as well as I do that most everyone is in the same poorhouse!Thanks for lookin! Love your work! Friggin Fun and Funny!
Tiki wahine,
So glad I could bring a smile toi your heart! Your thrifting adventures are so fun,like I'm shopping with you!Got that surfboard yet?
Here's a picture just for you! It's called "Tropical Night with Butterflies" and I painted it for my wife.If you look real close-you can see the huts and volcano around the edges...
Enjoy friends!

I love it! How did you know blue was my colour?
The little huts, volcanoes & palms are exquisite; I think they're my favorite part.
I hope to some day own a smaller original of your work.
I wish I were closer to a gallery showing so I could see it first-hand!

[ Edited by: Tikiwahine 2006-07-13 12:06 ]

Actually I didn't know, but working as a tee designer-blue is the best selling styles besides your basic white and now black!I tropicalized the style of asian folk-art papercuts and mixed it with a pareau graphic style as well! So many different cultures have so much great art I'm afraid I'll never see it all! Thanks again Tikiwahine!

Man, how about getting some fabric printed with your wild designs? They'd make killer Hawaiian shirts!

Funny you should say that! I worked at Rusty surfboards and did tees and prints for tops and bottoms from 1989-1995/same also for Hawaiian Island Creations 1996-late 2003.I'll take some digital photos of some of the shirts and post them after the smoke clears from this show.I have a friend,Jacques,who I used to send prints and he would do all the footwork and I'd get the occassional check so those prints ended up on clothing/upholstery fabric/curtains/you name it! We even did a cockfighting shirt! Mostly lots of Bali/Indo/and Oceanic influences on the woven shirts and trunks-Very fun,but getting it in repeat-especially ol'school hand-rendering can get old! I'd love to do a total crazy tiki floral on cotton or barkcloth and print it wet on wet so it gets that nice soft fade!
Speaking of prints,Mambo,down near your neck of the woods,puts out some insane prints,always pushing the right buttons!If you ever hear of them needing an artist-give them all my info! Cheers!

Thanks for the info on the price range of your art.

Some wild things you do - lots of intricate designs and colors!
I was thinking that maybe there was a Indian, Budda-type influence in your art - and see that you mentioned it above.
I went to your other website:
http://www.incrediblekenruzic.com/galleria.html
and saw some incredible imaginative pieces there. Lots of spiritual, religous (I guess one would describe it that way) art work.

Yeah Toonz!
Been doin for awhile and always readin' and learning! Through it all there was always tikis here and tikis there,if not in the fine art,then in the art for whatever company I was working with at the time! You should try your hand at some Moche(Peru?)or Mississippi Culture styles-the figures and motifs need to be Tooned up,so to speak!After this show I'm already planning my next(don't know where yet,but I'm working on the pieces-a gallery will come along so I usually concern myself with the art,as usual!....)This next series is called "Battle of the Fish" and was mainly inspired by the Tan Family Tomb carvings during the Han Dynasty in China quite a while ago! I took some of the characters and the flat low-relief style and added my own thangs and tada!
I usually work a couple of styles/themes at one time so the monkey-mind doesn't get bored. Thanks again for checking out the other site as well.The guy who set that one up moved away so I've just let it stay up there til doomsday! Looking back at old work,you're always kinda embarrassed about it except those few little pieces that stand out. That old stuff was mostly creating narratives or filling them in by combining different cultural styles and elements.Being artists,I think it is our duty (as semi-outsiders) to study this beast called man and try to reveal little insights about his journey on this earth.One of those main drives would be religion (be it Christian,Muslim.Mormon, or even Tiki!) as well as politics and power.Also sex would be a main motivator of mankind,so I even went thru a bunch of paintings with erotic themes(most of them amateur I think!)Eastern art and religion has always held a big fascination for me-the stories and just their sense of line and grace and design is on the money!Well, enough babbling! I believe that I speak for all artists when I say"What a long strange trip it's been." Not that I'm into the Dead or anything,but the quote was appropriate! Mahalo Toonz! Keep what you're doin!

Hey Kane and wahines!
Just finished the art for 2 books I'll be releasing at my upcoming show. Thought I'd post the art if you're in a coloring mood! Also check out one and play around with one of the upcoming Color-yourself TikiFarm posters if you haven't already!
It's at http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=19807&forum=18&start=0 Chongolio,these are mostly for you (and rodeotiki-mauitiki & his ohana-and Mr. TikiFarm himself) and all you other people out there who have nothing better to do!
Here they are-enjoy yourself!


Bye for now!

Here's an oldie but a goodie! For a while I played around with a stained glass style-and after doing Fish-Seahorse-Octopus-(and even one of the four living creatures around the throne of God In the Book of Revelations) I decided to try a tiki stained glass painting! Hope to be able to make real ones someday! "Moon Awakens a Tiki"
Here's a butterfly I did for the wifey...
and here's a more recent sea monster all stained glass and whatnot!

Mahalo!

[ Edited by: little lost tiki 2006-10-09 20:13 ]

I've checked out the website, and I've really been enjoying your work.

How long is your show in August running?

Aloha Tiki-Kate!
Thanks for checking out the site!I'm working on finishing that book and the files for a big screen powerpoint opus of hundreds of tiki/tropical paintings,watercolors,and drawings! The show is up until September 10th and it would be good to call the gallery first(I'll PM theirs and my #)They're usually open on weekends from about 12-5.but you never know...If you are in the neighborhood,try to contact me and I will do my best to be down there! (Except the Catalina Tiki Fest weekend of the 18th-19th-20th-I'll be there meeting all my new TC friends and other assorted hooligans!)Thanks for the kind words!This TC Ohana is just what I need to nudge me forward during these approaching Exhibition days! You guys work better than TUMS! Thanks again Tiki-Kate! Here's a fun little acrobatic troupe i drew on some ink-stained watercolor paper! Mahalo!

Love those stained glass pieces :)

wow your work is good. nice work! keep it up

Thanks Hewey! Thanks Duddy! Thanks TC!
This place is so fun! Nothing unstresses me more than looking at what my Tiki Ohana have created while I slept! I must check it at least twice a day when I'm at work! Anyways,tonight has been yet another night struggling tostay awake and get this derned 500 tikis book done! I posted some sneak peek pages on my website-but why go there when I can post them here for you all as well! Here's a page of Hut studies I just finished! It was such a pain in the arse to scan all these as well as put 'em together like some Tetris game!It does save me from having to flip thru 8 sketchbooks from the past two years for reference,tho!

and here's an Easter Island Orongo page!

Well, I gotta get back to book-making! Thanks for all the kind words and insights! You guys are my fuel these days!

Man I wish I could make the up coming show. But then me and my kids would fight over the coloring books and crayons. Love this stuff, all of it!!

Mahalo Rodoetiki!
You will be missed! I think kids are gonna have as swell a time as the adults! If I don't sell out of the Coloring Books,I'll offer the remaining ones for TC members to purchase. If they do sell out-I just may have to do a special edition (with some added bonuses) exclusively to TC ohana!Thanks for all the warmth ! Listen up! Take Rodeotiki's example and draw and color with your kids often!Mahalo!
here's one recently born..."Flower Warrior" acrylic and paintpen on wood

good work with that wooden painting. hey how is it painting on wood?

IT'S swell! Wood is fun and everywhere!Depends on what you're working with..theis one was easy-breezy! I sanded the wood-then did my background by mixing a few acrylics together and slapping it on there.Wait to dry.............Then sketch out your subject with a water-soluble pencil or crayon(not too hard-lightly on the surface)and painted that in real fast-just getting basic modelling down!Wait to dry.............Then I seal it-with acrylic, I used a brush on varnish(test first!)Wait to dry.......Then draw your design in paintpens and seal! Tada!
Here's a piece where I'm gonna ask you to figure out how it was done!
(The Winner will receive a Free! sense of self-satisfaction...)
"Smiling Tiki"

FEATHERS!

no wait.....straw blowing.
like blowing the paint around

[ Edited by: Tiki Duddy 2006-07-19 12:49 ]

Nope.

ummm....i thought for sure it was from you blowing the paint around. umm....with your mouth or something. haha
good work what ever it is

Good Guesses-Thanks for playing! Started with wet stained watercolor paper/you fill your dropper with ink and press it down on the surface where you'd like a line to show like an underdrawing(see on the hand)I started with blue-then i grabbed a wet sponge brush and spread the blue out towards the end of the paper-keeping the lighter color to define mr.tiki's shape.the feathers on the top were a mix of pressing down real hard on the dropper but just letting a teeny bit of ink thru(don't want a blob now do ya?)Then I grabbed the red (i think i was daydreaming about those red and blue 3-d glasses)and with the dropper drew out the eyes,lips,chest (of course the paper is drying a bit so the ink begins to bleed outward (resembling Tikiduddy's suggestion of blowing ink with a straw -which it does a bit I admit,but no splatters-a much cleaner spread of ink-like lil' arteries)Now the final touch -ever so simple,ever so subtle,but ever so important....I bet you're wondering what that is.....The background texture!Here's a fun tip that works better with ink but also works with gouache and watercolors.Grab a paper towel(2-ply-preferably decorated with bears or ducks-just kiddin),crumple it up and blot it down here and there and it creates an old wrinkled,rocky texture as it picks up ink BUT deposits it back down from the folds stickin out! I mostly stayed in the blue-but blotted it on the red just to bring that shade into the background a bit!Fun to do-but probably not half as fun as Hewey's burnt paper thing!http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=19657&forum=18&start=30There's nothing like smelling a campfire while you're making art!

Here's another recent creation.It's called "Tiki with a Hole in his Head" and it's made from a wooden serving tray.

enjoy!

Hey bro-
Awesome, as always. I like the way you will just paint on anything-great idea and very resourceful. I usually paint on found objects, mostly limited to windows and busted surfboards though. Next time I run across a wooden serving platter or something, I'm snaggin' it--maybe I'll save something for you to paint on and send me back for some $chingching$, eh?

Got your invite--thanx! it looks great, I may even frame it! Wish I could make it out there--take plenty o' pics for the rest of the Ohana to drool over!

PS- Just half joking about: I'll send you something to paint for $$. I'm sure your a very busy boy!

Thanks Surf-n-Turf!
Always like hearing what talented individuals as yourself have to say!Thank you! lad you liked the invite-you're on my list now,so you'll be getting these unexpected goodies every once in a while! (BTW I'll send you some of those discs we talked about as soon as the show is started!)Been so busy lately,but I wanna keep my TC Ohana full of inspiration,soooooooo....I'm taking a breather from this powerpoint production I'm working on for the show and will post these two pieces. Seeing the word of the day is "resourceful"-here are two more pieces that would fit into that category! "the Tiki of the Green Flames"

This one was a dumazz plaque with some stupid Holly Hobbie knockoff (or was it the "Hang in There Baby" kitty hanging from a branch,,,can't recall)anyways,put some acrylic over that as soon as I got home,affixed the lamp on top (an old photographer friend gave me a bunch of screw on trophy tops-i receive a lotta odd junk from friends)(i once painted a pvc life-size poodle that someone donated-sold the first hour of the show! I made it look like an old crumbling ornate statue) and stared and smoked and stared until his little body and big face appeared!painted him up,then added this cleargel stuff i got in Closeout at JoAnnes'Fabrics or Crafts or something.I put it on the eyes and a few other places and they pop out all clear and shiny-like! You gotta see it in person!

Here's another new one called "Tiki Soldier" and it's just gouache on a former wooden stand for gemstones!(another donation!) strange things to paint on are always welcome.If the piece turns out ultra-bitchen,I usually keep it for a show to sell (unless it's a commission) and will send the gracious donater a watercolor or small painting! There are a lot of dumpsters around and a lot of garage sales and thrift stores.Sometimes it make take 7 stores or 2 days of hunting,but once you see that object,your brain knows it contains something special,just waiting for you to bring it to life! Mahalo!