Aloha, all!

This is Castaway Clemens speaking (username still KreepyTiki for the moment)...

I'm here to introduce you to the work of a good friend of mine, Larry Brooks, who just joined TC today as Beachcomber Brooks.

Though Larry has been an artist for many years since his days back at CalArts, only recently -- at my eager urging -- did he venture into the uncharted waters of tiki. And, I must say, it's brought out something new in his work which is hard to define, but I know it when I see it!

A first-rate technician, Larry has a style all his own and his pieces share a (mostly) monochromatic moodiness, an air of the sinister, and a caustic whimsy which make them immediately stand out.

For the moment, with one notable exception, his tiki pieces are all black & white -- graphite on paper. Originally signing himself "L. Brooks", he now uses the nickname I've long called him by -- "Larrold".

First up is "The Dons"...

Then, keeping with this theme, "Tiki Mafia"...

(Those two pieces seem to be "Dons Of The Beachcomber"!)

Next we have "Nice Place"...

"Tiki Dude"...

"Kool"...

"Serenity"...

"Tastes Smooth"...

(Gee, bet you'd never guess Larry's not a smoker, eh?)

And then we have a couple particularly surreal ones -- "I Hate It When This Happens"...

And "You Have A Payment For Us"...

(Miss your payment with THESE guys and I get the feelin' you'd REALLY be "sleeping with the fishes"!)

Then there's a dip into tiki paranoia with "Did He Just Move"...

...and "I'm Not Alone"...

A serving of decidedly menacing tiki with "What Is This"...

..."Can You Hear Me Now?"...

...and "My Good Friend"...

(If tikis could be trained as guard dogs, these would be top candidates!)

And, last but not least, we return to the reassuring (at least relatively!) world of the tiki bar with this bunch, beginning with "I Feel Mellow"...

...continuing with "Nice Little Place"...

...and colorfully concluding with "Tiki Barman"...

Well, there ya have it!

So, ohana, whaddya think?

Cheers & Mahalos :drink: :tiki:

Castaway Clemens (guest-hosting for Beachcomber Brooks)

[ Edited by: Beachcomber Brooks 2008-09-09 11:25 ]

[ Edited by: Beachcomber Brooks 2008-09-09 17:09 ]

[ Edited by: Beachcomber Brooks 2008-09-10 08:42 ]

Hey there, Ohana!

Why has nobody commented yet on Larry's stuff, positive, negative, or indifferent?

Give him a little feedback, gang -- he's already gotten plenty of mine, as well as some helpful off-site suggestions and encouraging comments from BigBro.

I know his work is a bit offbeat & perhaps not typical tiki, but I find that kind of refreshing myself.

Well, I just saw it :)

I like it, some interesting compositions and characters/what's the word... subjects I guess.

I think these are fantastic! It's funny how many times I've seen random people who strongly resemble Moai statues~ I really like the way the Artist made the connection between some simple every-day people and similar Tiki images. Very talented drawings, thanks for sharing them with us! Moai_Mama

The last pencil drawing is my favorite tiki. I see a Micheal Jackson in there.

Larry's newest creation is comin' up...

...And HERE IT IS!

This one's called 'A Head For Business'.

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2009-03-27 21:25 ]

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2009-03-27 21:26 ]

[ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2009-05-01 05:29 ]

I love the dark, subtle humor in all of these.

I dated a guy who actually looked like a cross between a Moai and a member of organized crime (I think the 2 go hand in hand!) so I can really relate to the subject of these drawings. Interesting perspective on tiki with a twist.

Why has nobody commented yet on Larry's stuff, positive, negative, or indifferent?

Looks like Jack-O

The last one is the best one for me. The same tiki as the one in the last Tiki Shark pencil.

And here are the newest additions...

"Here's Lookin' At You"

"Savage Dreams"

"Primitive Thoughts"

"The Powers That Be"

"Visitor"

"Spirit Of The Jungle"

"The Appointment"

NOTE: The reason I post Larry's work rather than Larry himself is simply because he doesn't want to be bothered with the preperation and posting of the images and I don't mind doing it.

Besides... I'm his MANAGER! :wink:

Cheers & Mahalo :drink: :tiki:

Mafia Tiki - somehow I get it. I sure dig it.

Cool, fresh, very imaginative: it's what a lot of us are here for.

And now for the newest in this unique "Tiki-With-A-Twist" line-up:

'Disputed Territory'

Great work Larry!
bringing some psychological perspective to TC!
Your work has that
Ralph Steadman/Gerald Sharfe(sp?)
immediacy and movement!
Have you tried doing some ink tints over the pencils?
Might get a better feel than trying to color em in the computer
too many subtleties in gradation and such to let a computer do it!
Great work!

I had missed this tread, very cool Larrold. The subtle humor and the little digs at various people are priceless. I love that the people see the tikis as inanimate but they are very much alive and interacting with each other.

The noir aspect, along with a clear lack of influence from any artist I know of, really makes your work jump, Larry.

On 2009-08-09 06:30, KreepyTiki wrote:
And now for the newest in this unique "Tiki-With-A-Twist" line-up:

'Disputed Territory'

Its funny that the title is "Disputed Territory" and the drawing of the Marquesas Tiki is based on my carving I did for Hula's in Santa Cruz! I'll take it as a complement that my tiki got the spot over the Lono! For future sake, you might want to say if you based your design on someone else's, just like using a quote in a book, a little reference is good! Aloha!

Wow! Just discovered this thread. Sorry I missed it last year. I particularly dig those earlier Mob meets Tiki pieces, but then the surrealism works really well too. Did/does larry sell his work?

ch

Verrry Nice!
I love the graphite pieces! Very Noir, very illustrative. Would work well for pulp, psychological thrillers, magazine illustrations, etc.

keep them coming for sure!