Lake Tiki - 8/23/2013 - Red Cedar

I've been moving some things around and adding to Hale Nalu the last 3 months. I've got some new projects in the works which include a new carved table for the center of the room.

I tweaked some camera settings and took some new glamor shots... the collection can be seen here:

Hale Nalu

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2008-10-09 00:28 ]

The next time the wife and I go to Chicago to visit her family .... I want to hang out with you!!

Inspired by the tiki that hangs in the bar area at Chef Shangri-la, North Riverside, IL.

28" High x 11" Wide

Hand painted.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2008-11-01 22:03 ]

Very, very nice!

Lake,

Excellent work!!

The way you used the rope and paint came out classy.
Usually, I think that painting tikis can make them look a bit cheesy, but not in this case.

I got an excellent little barrel aut at Sewer peak this morning, it made my day.

Keep up the killer carving and don't forget to surf.

Will

..very nice rendition!!! keep it up, lake!!

Heath, thanks so much for the compliment!

Will, good to hear from you!
Thanks for the compliment!
I usually steer clear from painted tikis also, but I also thought this one was in taste and it is an older tiki. Not sure of its origin and artist.
When I saw it again a few months ago I got some good pictures of it and decided to carve one. It had some new challenges that were fun.
Looking at a picture you figure out what tools need to be used and how to carve certain features.

Things have slowed here a bit, but I had some good surf last week. The weather and winds have been fickle here all year.
I see you got your first taste of the winter swells last week and Maverick's turned on a bit. Some nice pics on Surfline.

Tipsy, thanks! A little bit of hometown flavor for ya! This piece was a lot of fun.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2008-10-14 14:59 ]

wow nice the Shangri-la tiki turned out sweet!! Oh yea and I am still really really really jealous of your bar.

Ken, thanks for stopping by! And thanks so much for the compliments!

This Chef Shangri-la tiki reminds me of some Witco pieces... I think its the dark stain and the paint combined.

The tiki bar... yeah its coming along. :wink: I'm lucky to have the space for it all. But you really need a shelter here to keep you sane when the winter snows set in.
Its been a really fun ongoing project, and with the foundation in place I just keep building on the layers.

I like your version of the Shangri-la better!

Wow, very nice. I love the way you used the paints too.

Great Job on the Chef Shangri-la Tiki Lake!
Glad to have such an ambassador of Tiki
in the old stomping ground!
Keep it up!
Don't Stop!
and the hand-painted touches really enhance the piece!
Bravo!

On 2008-10-14 07:31, Lake Surfer wrote:
Inspired by the tiki that hangs in the bar area at Chef Shangri-la...

You forgot to include "...but way more refined, cymetrical and generally finer in every way!"

Cuz it is! Keep up the great work.

Kick'n-out choice carves cuz! Your Surf O' Lakes tiki-style grips my attention by eyeballin' da swells... snaps da lip...drops in da barrel to ride da nose... facing da A-frame into da break... BRAINFREEZE BRADDAH!! :D Zimzala of da Great Lakes! :D

Lake! MAN that Hale Nalu room is sweeeeeet. You really went in to the details on it...just beautiful. You should be a restaurant decorator!
You should be real :D !!

Aloha

Jonesey!

Many mahalos for the props, and for peepin my new work!

The original tiki was screaming old school flavor, and carving my homage was like free lessons.

Ever drink a frozen margarita too fast?

Welcome to surfing the Great Lakes eight months out of the year! :eek

surfing... thanks bruddah!
I'm grinning every time I walk through the bar on the way to the carving studio. I love the place, and it feeds off of the creativity that happens in the room next to it.

Back to my favorite subjects, the Marquesan tikis. :)

This new one is "Hatutu." Named after one of the northern Marquesas Islands.

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2008-10-23 21:52 ]

Looking sweet Lake!! I love the stuff you have been cranking out!! The detail is off the hook!

hodadhank and Mr. Sperm Whale... I appreciate your kind compliments!

hodadhank... Its a neat process as the mind takes in the lines and cuts and calculates them in it's own little way.
And then the hands carve away and out comes a tiki that is similar, but unique in many different ways.

There's some other neat, new stuff brewing in the studio. Its going to be a long winter and its nearly time to hunker down.

I've got a piece on the table right now that I am trying not to carve too fast, but I want to see how it turns out!

Someday, I WILL own one of your pieces, dammit!

You do Marq's like nobody else!

Many thanks 4WDtiki!

Just trying to keep it Exotic!

More great work Lake, I really dig the latest Marq, especially your
detail in the forehead. Wonderful attention to detail.

Thanks a bunch, Conga!

I'm pretty drawn to much of the Marquesan work because of the insane amount of detail in many of their panels and bowls.
It's something that I want to try and capture in my work, and so far it has been a fun challenge.

Lake, it seems to me you're meeting that challenge head-on and doing an Excellent job of it. You have nailed those pieces perfectly, now to add your own influence to them and make a Lake/Marq that says Lake as much as Marq!.

Thanks for the compliments Benz. :)

Here's another something I finished up...

This one is named "The Idol of Hana Vave."

Hana Vave is a bay on the island of Fatu Hiva.

19" H x 10" W

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2008-10-23 21:43 ]

dig the poss/neg on these!

Lake Rocks!

It's all ridiculous (and I mean that in very positive way!)... you're a ruler, Lake Surfer!

Mahalo guys!

Means a lot coming from 2 talented individuals such as yourselves.

Again, thanks so much.

It's been three days, where is the next piece of Lake creativeness? Your last several pieces have a really nice vibe.

Johnny, thanks for the bump and the compliment!

I actually did finish a new piece that I was experimenting with.

It is inspired by the highly detailed Marquesan bowls.

I've got some new Hawaiian Kona Style pieces sketched out, they'll be a part of next year's work.

Anyone attending the November Chef Shangri-la event will get a peek at them... they probably won't be seen in the general public until next year's events.

You're really cranking them out!
You must have an army of highly trained termites to do your bidding. :P
Keep up the great work!

Some of the coolest stuff around! Always interesting and unique
designs, perfectly executed. In other words, I like 'em.

Heath, thanks bruddah!

No termites, they don't do well in this cold climate. :wink:

Just some tireless arms and nimble fingers. We've settled into some serious fall doldrums that chase people indoors.
Along with that we are expecting an arctic blast this weekend, lows in the 20's and highs in the 40's.
As the temperatures fall, my carvings increase. Less outside distraction.

Conga, my friend. Thank you for the kind compliments!
Pieces like this are interesting, really takes me out of my comfort zone and expands horizons.
I want to do some refining of this style, it will be some challenging work.
I think it can be pushed farther and tightened up a little.

But thanks, I know I am headed in the right direction!

WOW and WOW

Serious Masterpieces here my friend !

These are lessons for the eyes.
Your marquesan carvings are always beautiful.
Did you carve it in the sense of the grain or by crossing it ? I'm asking 'cause one of these is a circle... I hope I'm understandable enough !

Benjamin.

Echo that. Man the latest stuff is just so cool. They just seem so original and unique. The pattern work is very beatiful. How thick are these pieces?

Lake, I'm Really loving this Crisp, Clean Light look of this series and the washed blue is Absolutely Sweet and pleasing to the eye. My hat's off to'ya!

Benjamin, thanks for your kind words!

I do understand what you mean about crossing the grain, and yes I did do that.
That was the goal of a circular piece. To get away from the comfort zone and try some different shapes that might be a bit more difficult to carve.
Cross grain demands an extremely sharp edge, so I'm constantly sharpening.
I've got some other things brewing in my head that I hope to try our in the next month.

Big T, I really appreciate the compliments! I'm having a lot of fun with these pieces and I've been doing a lot of research to keep them on the traditional side.

The thickness of most of the pieces is between 3/4 and 1". Some of my new work for the Tiki Mag show consisted of different planes of wood to create layers.

Benz, crisp is what I've been striving for, and I've been doing a lot of experimenting behind the scenes with color. Some are happy accidents and some have been thought out.
I've got quite a few simple test pieces in the studio and have been writing down color formulas for all of the work I do.
Thanks so much for your compliments on the new stuff!
I've been watching your work on your thread... the detail and the scale that you are working at is amazing!
Impressive carvings!

Hey Lake,
Those last two carves are awesome!!!

On 2008-10-25 16:16, Lake Surfer wrote:

Big T, I really appreciate the compliments! I'm having a lot of fun with these pieces and I've been doing a lot of research to keep them on the traditional side.

The thickness of most of the pieces is between 3/4 and 1". Some of my new work for the Tiki Mag show consisted of different planes of wood to create layers.

3/4" - 1"?? Wow! That impressive with not very much depth to work with. Well, it seems to me anyway. I haven't tried anything like that yet. But looks pretty tough.

Tahitiki: thanks for the compliment!
I love your work also, you have a very refined carving style with clean cuts.
Have you done any new work lately?

Big T... yep, that's the thickness. I've been at this flatwork for about 2 years now.
I hate to think of all the first pieces I went completely through. :(
This type of work does have it's challenges, grain pattern being the biggest.

Back to The Islands with this Kona Style Lono.

A good size wallhanging, coming in at 36" H x 9 1/2" W

This was a piece I couldn't put down. A lot of fun to carve.

I don't know how you get such depth in those relatively thin boards,
but please keep it up. Wonderful carving skills and all of your pieces
seem to be well studied. Yer killing me!

Hey Lake,
Thanks for the compliment, the Lono is pretty cool too man!
I'm working on a couple things, like a small copy of the Tiki Picasso owned, also a marquesan fly whisk handle. I'll post some pict soon.

That Lono kicks ass. Cool design and great detail.

Definitely your best work! Excellent detail with nice rounded features and crisp clean detail. It looks like you took extra time cleaning all the nooks and crannies where carving garbage usually hang out :) Very nice

Conga, many thanks!

I think I've kinda got a feel for how far to push it now with the depth on these pieces.
Back 2 years ago, I actually went through a couple.

Thanks for stopping by Tahitiki, and thanks for the kind words! Keep up the good work on your end!

A.S. thanks! I think he kicked my ass a little bit too, I seemed to have tweaked my wrist a bit. I need a break.

Benz, I have to agree with you. This one was a lot of fun and I think it shows. There were lots of little nooks and crannies, and the headress was a whole 'nother animal.
Thanks much for the compliments!

Time for a short break!
We've got a south wind cranking up in advance of a front heading across the plains... Thursday is SURF DAY!

I do have a new piece on the table started... coming soon!

New KU just finished!

Gotta get some pictures of it when the sun comes out!

Here's a new piece I just finished up... Kilauea Ku.

9" W x 20" H