New work posted! Inexplicable business card holders! Tiki Bob keychains! More Islander! Pg. 15!

Aloha everybody!

After some prodding by Tikishark, I got my act together, registered on the site, and am finally confidant enough to bare my tiki art to the denizens of Tiki Central.

Brad had suggested I explore the world of tiki when we attended to the Tikis and Terrors show at Bahooka a while back. The idea simmered in the back of my mind for a while, but although I had an appreciation for tiki culture, I didn't feel I had a real passion for it (hoo boy, did that ever change... but, I'm getting ahead of myself) and anything I would attempt would be kinda like faking it.

I don't remember how it occurred to me, but I started thinking about incorporating stuff about which I was passionate into the tiki world. Well, I thought, I like Godzilla and all his monster buddies... how about Godzilla as a tiki?

So from there, I created my very first tiki painting TIKIZILLA (acrylic on canvas 20" x 24"), in July of 2007.

Wow, I thought to myself. That was fun! Then I thought, this piece needs a companion ( I like to work in series, so I think that thought with alarming frequency). I decided to paint Godzilla's pteranodon pal, Rodan, as a tiki:

RODAN TIKI (acrylic on canvas 20" x 24").

While technically not a tiki, Tobunga, the monster in the horrible 50's B-movie From Hell It Came seems tikiish to me... he's a big scary wooden thing lurking about on a south seas island, so I did this painting.

TOBUNGA RISES! (acrylic on canvas 11" x 14").

Actually Tobunga is a badly made rubber suit, stiffly operated by some poor bastard inside. Kinda like one of those trees from HR Puffinstuff, but evil. My Tiki Central handle is an homage to this endearingly awful creation.

Now I'm really getting into this tiki groove, and so I returned to the tiki monster theme with A TIKI FROM A BLACK LAGOON (acrylic on canvas 20" x 24").

Along with the other art I do, I'm now starting to think tiki... and I LIKE it!I did a couple of pieces using dramatic lighting and framing, so I did two tikis at sunset, where they were mostly in shadow, or silhouette... TIKI SUNSET 1 and TIKI SUNSET 2, both acrylic on canvas 11" x 14".

So now my mind is in total tiki overdrive, and I'm furiously drawing idea after idea. Here's a painting based on the Hitchhiking Ghosts from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland (something else I really love!)

HITCHHIKING TIKIS (acrylic on canvas 20" x 24").

I just had 14 pieces (including these) in the Mainlander's 1st Anniversary Luau and Art Show. What a thrill to have my
new-found passion on display with other incredibly talented tiki artists!

I'll be posting some more work as soon as I get some photos. If you would like to see more of what I do, please visit my website: http://www.ericoctober.com

At the moment, there's not much tiki art on display there (in fact, there's more of my tiki work here), but on the next update to the site, I should have lots more of the tiki art I've done up... but I'll probably post it here first, anyway!

At a quick count, I have about 20 different tiki ideas percolating in my head right now, so I better get drawing...

[ Edited by: tobunga 2010-05-04 00:14 ]

Aloha Tobunga!

I really dig the Rodan tiki. Moody, and rather beautiful. I always felt that Godzilla had a Polynesian feel to him. You know, atomic bomb testing on remote south sea's atoll's causing radiation and mutation, and it's natural it'd all flow into the Tiki World. Very cool, very retro 50's, and I'm sort a pissed I didn't think of it!

ALSO... The Tiki from the Black Lagoon is SWEEEEEEET!

Can't wait to see more!

Mahalo for sharing!

Aloha and welcome to TC!

You will never find a more honest bunch of art critics than here. And I will let you decide if that is a good or bad thing,

Rodan is way cool, but I WANT the Black Lagoon Tiki! If you make prints, or lithos, or more of any kind, let me know because I seriously WANT!

Thanks the Gods and Tikishark for encouraging you, because from your great art, I can see you been holdin' out!!!

These are so much fun and such fresh interpretations of what's possible for tiki.

Awesome work, dude! Can't wait to se see more!!

I.

Tobunga,

Welcome to TC, it's great to see another artist on here. You've got some great pieces and we can't wait to see more from you. I especially love the hitchhikers and I know Mrs. Frostiki will as well (she is a Disney/haunted mansion fanatic). I'm glad Brad talked you into joining our little rum filled corner of the world.

Keep up the good work.

Welcome! Glad to see you have joined and posted your work. For me, I love the Tikizilla print! I like the point of view and the lighting. I would vote that one for a print personally, but that is just because I want it for myself. LOL Look forward to seeing more from you.

TIKIZILLA!
RODANTIKI!
TOBUNGA RISES!
TIKI FROM A BLACK LAGOON!
TIKI SUNSET 1 and TIKI SUNSET 2!
HITCHHIKING TIKIS!
WOW!
Welcome to TC Tobunga!
Glad Brad could prod ya into sharing some Masterpieces!
Seems like you caught the fever AND are running with it!
Nice twist /advancement on the Tiki theme....
A genre unadvanced is a genre that grows stale....
Thanks for livening things up
and stimulating the ohana's grey matter!

looks like a good start, however it reminds me very much of tiki sharks work in terms of colors and style....i like the hitchhiking tikis you coopted from shag's painting of the haunted mansion and the hitch hiking ghouls.....always cracks me up!

"operation chaos is in effect!! RUSH the vote 2008!!"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2008-04-16 08:42 ]

On 2008-04-16 04:17, Chip and Andy wrote:

You will never find a more honest bunch of art critics than here. And I will let you decide if that is a good or bad thing,

..actually, you will find about 1 or 2 honest critics here...the rest are glad handers and back slappers.....which may not be a bad thing while trying to find your artistic niche and voice....good for self confidence....

On 2008-04-16 08:41, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
looks like a good start, however it reminds me very much of tiki sharks work in terms of colors and style...

---

....Hmmmm, looks like my stuff? That must be why I like it so much! :)

Dig the tikizilla and rodan peices.

Are they available, do you plan on prints?

I do see some similarities to Brad "tiki shark" as tipsy mentioned, but to me that is a good thing. In fact, I already own some of Brad's art stuff.

Please keep painting and updating.

-S

On 2008-04-16 11:15, sirginn wrote:
Dig the tikizilla and rodan peices.

Are they available, do you plan on prints?

I do see some similarities to Brad "tiki shark" as tipsy mentioned, but to me that is a good thing. In fact, I already own some of Brad's art stuff.

Please keep painting and updating.

-S

.....it's actually flattering to brad....and that's good for the artist in the sense that they are taking another artist who inspires them and using that style as a jumping off point on the way to honing their skills and finding their own voice/vision as in the use of the subject matter (i.e.rodan)

Hey everybody!

Thanks for the feedback! I guess I may have been unconsciously influenced by Tikishark's work... of all the tiki art I've seen, I'm most familiar with his! Any comparison to his work is praise indeed!

Hey Tipsy! I didn't know shag has a hitchhiking ghosts... the only reference I used was a postcard of the poster for the attraction... I guess variations on a theme would have similarities! I'll have to see if I can find out how his look!

I'm in the process of having all my work digitally photographed and scanned, so I'll be able to make giclees soon. I'll keep everybody posted!

Here's a few more pieces that were in the Mainlander's show:

TOBUNGA'S REVENGE! Acrylic on Canvas 11" x 14"

The spirit of a wrongly executed islander gets back at those who crossed him!

EBIRA ESTA EBRIA. Acrylic on Canvas 11" x 14"

The Japanese title of Godzilla VS. The Sea Monster is Gojira, Ebira, Mosura:Nankai No Dai Ketto, which translates to Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas.

By rearranging the letters of Ebira's name, you get EBRIA, Spanish for intoxicated. I figured since the action was in the south seas, he would be drunk on libations from a tiki mug, the mug being an actual life-size tiki, with a palm tree for garnish!
(Godzilla is annoyed because Ebira is too drunk to fight.)

This is a drawing that was also on display.
THE TIKI THAT CARVED ITSELF. Pencil on paper 9" x 12".

The original sold, but since several people asked about it, I'm definitely making prints of this one.

Here's a quick drawing I did based on a photo of the artists from the Mainlander's show...

Thanks again for the feedback!

shag's painting is three hitchhiking hipster monsters in front of the haunted mansion.....i forget the title, but he used alot of greens in that one too if i recall correctly.....the similiarities are eerie, which is why i thought of shag's painting immediately.....

actually...the painting is called "the coolest ghouls" and it's in the book "bottomless cocktail : tha art of shag.......check it out.

"operation chaos is in effect!! RUSH the vote 2008!!"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2008-04-17 17:59 ]

Thanks for the info! Just googled it... Yes, they it's resplendent in Haunted Mansion Green!

Hey Eric,

Popped in to check out your new work and love it! I love that twist with Ebira and Ebria--that was a found treasure (and the painting is fun, too!).

I've got to check out that movie with Tobunga/From Hell It Came (I think I'm getting the title wrong, I'll check it out in the thread after posting). I'm a fan of B movies (okay, I suppose that's redundant on this forum) and I think we have similar tastes from what you've liked in my artwork. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing more from you!

Oh, who are the people in the photograph?

Take care,

I.

Cool stuff with a definite style, tobunga...

Thanks for the comments, Sam and Ivan!

Here's photos of a new series I'm starting called "In A Tiki World", the idea being to re-imagine famous buildings from around the world as if they had been created during the golden era of tiki culture. I chose a color pallet and style that hopefully reflects graphics of Tiki Menus from that time period.

Each painting is 11x 14" acrylic on canvas.

In A Tiki World: Eiffel Tiki and Arc De Tiki

In A Tiki World: Transtiki Pyramid and Golden Gate Tiki

In A Tiki World: Leaning Tower Of Tiki

I have six more images for the series, I'll post them as completed. Any feedback would be great!

Thanks fer lookin!

[ Edited by: tobunga 2008-05-17 15:41 ]

I really like them

Wow, great work. Another artist with a unique and dynamic style. Is Tiki Central always like this?

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

WHEN IS SOMEONE GONNA WISE UP AND DO A BOOK? WHEN IS JUXTAPOSE GONNA SWOOP IN AND DO AN ARTICLE ON THIS GROUP OF RADICLE MISFIT REVOLUTIONARIES?

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

That is a neat concept of the tiki carving himself...BRILLIANT!!!

Very nice work. I like the trans world and Golden Gate piece the most... the structures shown in 3/4 view like that add dimensionality (is that a word) to the work.

ST

Wow Eric! You're soooo creative - what an incredible idea! They look really great! Can't wait to see the rest of the series, they'd make a great postcard or notecard set. :)

Mieko

Way to go Tobunga!
Nice palette and whimsical feel to these drawings...
Reminds me of the children's books i grew up with!
Great concept for a series!

Thanks for the feedback on the new series!
Hey Ken, hopefully your comments means I'm hitting the era for which I was aiming!
Here are the latest additions to the In A Tiki World series:

Each painting is 11x 14" acrylic on canvas.

In A Tiki World: Big Tiki Clock Tower

This was the idea that started the whole series. I wondered how Big Ben would look as a tiki, so I drew it. And once those flood gates open, my brain usually goes into overdrive...

In A Tiki World: Tiki Mahal

(or maybe I should call it Taj Mahalo!)

In A Tiki World: The Great Tiki and Pyramid of Tiki

I know these are not the best pix in the world, but I will have super high quality photos soon, and I can start to make giclee prints!

Thanks fer lookin!
Eric

Here's the latest additions to the In A Tiki World series. Each is 11x14, acrylic on canvas.

In A Tiki World: Chrystiki Building

I went through several different versions of this one before I got an image that I liked, and that hopefully kept the unique elements of the building while transforming it into tiki.

In A Tiki World: The Great Wall Of Tiki

In A Tiki World: Tiki Opera House

I have several other images in mind, but other projects are beckoning, or rather pounding furiously in my brain to be released, so I'll need to turn my focus else where... but I shall return... I want to have buildings or monuments from all seven continents, and I still haven't tackled South America yet, although I do have an idea of what I want to do.

Mr. October/Tobunga ~ Very fun and rather funny stuff. Bitching idea. I dig the retro-children's book look. I think "Transtiki Pyramid and Golden Gate Tiki" is the best of the bunch. Sneakytiki is right about the 3/4 view bringing out a cool dimensionalizationmationisticness to the art.

Like Robb Hamel, I'm also amazed at the level of creativity we got going here on TC. I tell ya, the "other crafts" area should be re-named the "Art-brain-storm" area. Really, I cannot think of another place on the net where I can paroose through so much art, that's so different, yet all so interesting and good. LLT said he thought there was a Renaissance going on TC right now, and I gotta agree.
Also, I'm jealous that Tobunga has the last name I always wanted. I think you'll have to like adopt me (can you adopt old cranky people?) so I can have that cool last name.
Also, while I'm on my rambling cranky old artist rant, why the heck is the sun light so bright this morning? And who the heck is ringing that bell I keep hearing? And why is that bottle of Captain Morgan's coconut flavored rum I hid in my file cabinet empty? Oh wait a minute... It's Monday morning isn't it. Okay, that explains alot.

Tiki Shark

http://www.tikishark.com
http://www.myspace.com/Lotus_Land

[ Edited by: Tiki Shark Art 2008-06-16 13:13 ]

I'm digging the 'In a Tiki World' series. Been trying to think of landmarks in South America and all I can think of is the Christ on the mountain in Rio. Looking forward to seeing some more.

I like the tikis in the world series .... a lot!!!
OK; three ideas for ya!
Manns Chinese Theater in Hollywood
Mount Rushmore
The Vegas Strip!

Have fun

Thanks for the feedback!

Sure, I'll adopt you Brad... then shortly afterward, I dunno, a huge 1,000 pound tiki totem will "mysteriously" fall on you and crush you to goo, and the Tiki-Shark fortune will be mine! HA-HA-HA-HA!!! Er, I mean... boo-hoo-hoo, that makes me sad!

Blindy - That was my thought for South America too... I did a drawing of the Rio Jesus (I think it's called Christ the Redeemer) but I'm not happy with it yet... I'll need to do some revisions before it's ready to paint.

jpmartdog - Thanks for the suggestions! Mount Rushmore would be cool... with maybe a Ku, Lono, Moai and Tangaroa. The Chinese theater might not work, since it's already ersatz Chinese, piling on Pop-Polynesia might be a catastrophe! Or maybe it would make perfect sense...
I could do the old 70's Vegas strip, with the Stardust and everything... that would be interesting.

I've got St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow and the Parthenon in the works... debating whether or not the pediment of the Parthenon should have an A-Frame...

Very Very fun stuff. Great Idea to manipulate these iconic places into tikis. LOVE it!

Thanks Jeremy! Glad you like! Thanks for the link to your art... VERY COOL stuff!
Can't wait to see what other tiki-inspired gems you'll produce!

[ Edited by: tobunga 2008-06-27 17:56 ]

I was at Tonga Hut earlier this week... went to the restroom to take a wizz and realized that the men's room, like the rest of Tonga Hut, is now very familiar to me... I had a shocking thought, which I jotted down in my sketch book when I got back to my Mai Tai... when I got home, I inked and colored it, and present it here:

I'm going to Tonga Hut tonight, too, so maybe it's true! I'm a Tiki-Bar Fly!

http://ericoctober.com

[ Edited by: tobunga 2008-07-03 10:23 ]

Great art! Lots of creativity & thought must have gone into those. The Kremlin is just waiting to be remade into a tiki palace!

Tobunga, your artwork is great, refreshing and fun. Keep it up and keep going to Tonga Hut, you know most likely I will be there.. :)

It's always good to see new stuff by you.

Here's a couple of new pieces.

This one is called March of the Tiki Gods. (16x20 acrylic on canvas)

I like the way some of the Lono tikis I've seen have a really big headdress, but a relatively small body, so I thought I'd play up that difference in this image. Kind of makes him look all cute, I think... I did the same with Ku, and hopefully a sense of playfulness comes through.

I created these 8" high table-top displays for the Tonga Hut 50th Anniversary, which is this year! Happening now!You should be able to see them if you stop in at the Tonga Hut! The tiki is based on the huge Moai near the front door of the Tonga Hut.

Thanks for looking!

awesome stuff tobunga! keep it up dood, and it was rad hanging out you at the mainlanders show

brudda Tobunga!!!!

damn, man, u have been a busy beaver!

I am loving all the work, especially the marching tikis!

one small complaint: put ur name in your thread title so kooks like me don't miss your updates!

look forward to seeing you at the FREAKOUT opening!!

alohas, toe-nails

The 50th year Tonga Hut table displays are great, right down to the cracks on the real Moai.

March of the Tiki Gods is AWESOME,Tobunga!
Is that goin in the Freakout? Hope so?

I really like the new pieces. Fome-Kore is a fun medium, I like the skewer support for the sign, and "March of the Gods" is a real blast, I like the texture of the Tikis. I especially like your acrylics, and hope we'll see more soon.

Come down to the light gallery this Saturday and see Four of 'bunga's paintings
at the Tiki freakout!
"March of the Tiki Gods" is A-1!
The colors/balance/form/rhythm/content will
FREEK your FACE off!

Yep, that march painting is darned good!
Got such a great animated feel, expressive, and nice color choices.

TikiMango -
Tiki Thomas -
Big Toe -
Kinny -
Robb -
Brad -

Thanks so much for the positive feedback! I appreciate it, and draw inspiration from you all! I feel honored to be in such great company!

I've had a crazy few weeks lately... prepping for the Tiki Freakout show, (helping with the set up was pretty awesome, thanks Kinny and Rory for the educational experience!)

Left from the show and drove down to San Diego for a few days, and when I returned, prepped for vending at Tiki Luau Nights at the Egyptian. What an great event! King Kukulele was there setting the mood, and I saw Scott (Joe Banks) and Jim (Tikiyaki)... I met the very cool Big Mike of Swangulo Design, and got to tiki-geek-out over meeting the awesome Tiki Tony... it was so much fun!

Here's a pic of my little display:

I realized I didn't actually have a display or anything other than a card table, so on Thursday night, I drew up a little diagram, and I got up on Friday morning and started constructing a little tiki shack and display boards for paintings. By dinner time, everything was done, and didn't look half bad (and it didn't fall down)!

Here's one of the new pieces I had there:

It's Kuddly Ku, 11" of plush tiki doll cuteness. It's hand made, stitched up by me, with a little assistance from Manuel, my partner. I have some for sale, if anyone is interested. They're 35.00 including shipping. You can paypal my email address, [email protected]. Type in "Kuddly Ku" so I know what you want.

I was also working on a very cool project: a print for the Tonga Hut 50th Anniversary!

Here's a pic:

I wanted to feature elements distinct to Tonga Hut, so painted the 4-level fountain and the giant moai.

The finished piece is 11x14 giclee print, signed and numbered, limited to 50.
They're sized to fit in an 11x14 frame without matting, or you can mat it for a larger frame.

They're $35 each, and you can order through me, through paypal (as above, [email protected]) Price includes shipping.

I'll be receiving them this Thursday, and they will also be available at the Tonga Hut, probably starting on Friday, the 1st.

The most recent thing I've completed (yesterday) is a flyer for the 1st Annual LA Home Tiki Bar tour:

I don't have a home tiki bar of my own, but I wanted to contribute something to the event. The theme fit in with my recent series, In A Tiki World, so I tikified City Hall and the Griffith Observatory! It was fun!

Well, back to work... my brain is leaking tiki ideas at an astonishing rate, and I have to go document them...

http://ericoctober.com

[ Edited by: tobunga 2008-07-29 12:11 ]

Kabunga~ I dig the set up you had at the theater. Glad you went. sorry I missed it. When you get that huge stach?! The KU's are very Kool - mine is sitting in my art room gaurding my tiki mugs. The home tour poster is fun, but.... I really like the Tonga hut print. Don't get me wrong, I dig your cartoony work, but... I know you got the chops to do realism, and I am partial to your full on rendering style.

Love the Kuddly Ku, just sent payment for one. You should do more tiki pillows like that, very cool! Perfect to toss on a butterfly chair :)

Great stuff, keep venting out your stuff...we're all benefitting off of it!