tikis by marcus thorn

H everyone - Been flat out - but I thought I better share this news with you all

For the First Time Australia’s Wintersun Festival Welcomes Three Guest Artists!

Possibly one of the biggest car shows on the planet, the annual Wintersun Festival has invited Marcus Thorn of Tiki Beat Australia, Max Grundy and James Owens of the U.S.A. to be the first guest artists in the twenty year history of this week long event.
Max and James have been commissioned to put their own spin on the Wintersun Tshirt. And Marcus Has created a limited edition monster mug. All three artists will be at the show signing and selling. These items will also be available on line. If you pre-order, each mug will be signed and numbered by Marcus. Email [email protected]

Wow, Marcus,, Looks like you Are doing well, going to Japan, Hawaii and now a Giant show at home, you're on a Roll. keep up the great work. When you gonna do some BIG tikis??
We Love'ya and I'm doin' fine

Thanks Ben - might have to wait a while for the big stuff again - I have a lot of pieces to get through and they are all handy travel size. I have taken six months off travelling to Hawaii but am heading back over in May so maybe I will get another big fella done. Always make time in my day to pop on to Tiki Central to see what everybody is up to - even if I dont get the chance to write and post - hoping my wife will spend some time this weekend loading photos of my latest work
Take care

Photos of my latest work in progress

Can you guess what it is?

Boris Karloff! Definitely not Fred Gwynne. :wink:
Awesome job getting wood to look like skin and muscle. Those ears look magnificent!
Cool. And WOW.

FRANKENSTIEN?

is that a Frankenstein?
BEST FRANKENSTEIN TIKI EVER!
All you other carvers...turn in your tools please....

you go Marcus!

WOW! :o You are Michelangelo incarnate, Marcus! Amazing.

Marcus, Absolutely amazing work! You look at him and expect him to start speaking. Can't wait to see him finished.

Is that a shifter knob? It looks like it could be huge - but the bits give away its size.

So realistic... Frankenstein or self portrait? :roll:

J.

You guys are onto me it is Frankenstein - here is some pics to wet your appetites

Little Lost Tiki - that is way too kind coming from a talented artist like yourself and thanks for the support from the rest of you guys tiki joe pops, tiki lizard, surfin tiki,tikigodz, alohastation alaojia

Man Marcus that is some killer carving!
Can hardly wait to see it finished!

MARCUS!! Frankie is Totally Incredible. You have Graduated to the next few higher levels of Mastry with the realism, the facial detail and the whole proportions conception. Frankie would have Loved a face this good looking. I'm just not believing what I'm seeing, I Always knew you had it in you to do this level of carving and I'm really proud to see you doing it!!
BRAVO.

holly crap! Realism to say the least! Sick Mate!

You can see a photo of the finished artwork here.

http://www.kustomlane.com/california_screamin.htm

Please go back to the homepage and check out the rest of the website while you're at it. Kustom Lane is the ONLY gallery that I know of that covers the whole Lowbrow/Kustom scene here in Melbourne,Australia. Over the last few years there have been some really cool exhibitions showcasing some amazing artists, including yours truly. Email Tony, i'm sure he does international shipping.

[ Edited by: swizzle 2010-04-01 04:40 ]

Ok Since Sizzle has taken the suspense of seeing my final pictures of my carving out of my hands - here is some decent shots of how I completed the process and good shots of the final piece.

I was trying to show the process that went into completion of the Frankie - I am all for showing off other peoples art, I write an article every month in an Australian Mag to show off our talent down here and overseas, I guess in future I will post all pics at once so somebody doesnt come along and take away the drum roll...

Kustom Lane is the only gallery in Australia that really gets the lowbrow scene which is why I support them in my articles and Tony and Janet do a great job putting on the exhibits they throw themselves right into everything they do and it pays off for everybody involved, their support of my work has been outstanding I encourage everybody to check out their shows you will be blown away. Also keep an eye out for my "The beat goes on" articles in Cruisin Mag every month for my latest blog.

Paul Hughes and Sir Luis Fuzzhound artists exhibiting at the gallery whom I have befriended

Tiki Beat by Marcus
http://www.tikibeat.com.au

[ Edited by: tiki beat by marcus thorn 2010-04-02 01:34 ]

Just AAWESOOME!

He's ALIVE!! ALIVE!! Great sculpture!

Just when I think your at the top you just go over it! Simply WOW! Great work as always.

YUOU GOT TO BE SHITIN ME !!!!

What Benz said + WOW!
SO cool, Marcus

Master work! Wow! Frickin wow!

WOW MARCUS THATS AWESOME

wow mahalo everyone wow

Marcus -

Kirby was telling me about this last week but for whatever reason, I'm just now catching up and checking it out. Man...outstanding! Can't express just how awesome this Frankie is...your carvings consistently knock me out!

Impressive job as always, what a talented carver..

I'll see your "WOW" and raise you a "Holy CRAP!"

Thats AWSOME! my god man.....whats your next project going to be after that????????? really?

any hints?

I feel sooo small all of a sudden.......like an ant!

Creative Chimp

[ Edited by: Creative Chimp 2010-04-12 13:36 ]

wow nice words to come back to thanks tikig,clarita,and creative chimp.

I have a piece in this upcoming show - so if your in the area drop by and check it out Its my first collaborative piece with US artist James Owens of Car Noir

G'day Marcus
Good to see you're keeping busy, some of your latest pieces are off the hook!!!
I'm sure the Qld weather is better than London at the moment... hope to be back there soon...
What's up with your big guys in Hawaii being sold on craigslist? (see Marketplace thread) - seems strange!?
Keep up the good work,
cheers,
harro

Hi Harro Yeah my agent has to move out of her place in Hawaii on short notice - and since I dont own the tikis I was just the artist who carved them I dont get to decide what their fate is. It is just starting to get cold here (you know QLD cold - long pants instead of shorts) I have been driving down to Taree in NSW lately to work on my car and its freezing down there - doesnt stay cold too long when your working around the welder though. The Buick is so close to being finished now I can almost smell that final coat of paint! Cant wait to drive her home. its been a long voyage and if I ever even think about building another custom my wife will have me put away!

This was a very exciting project - I have never done this before - what started out as a chat on the phone with my mate Jim Owens of Car Noir - turned into this guy - I carved him and then shipped him off to Jim in the States, Jim then painted him and the gear shift and the painting are both on show now at Gasoline Gallery. Hopefully this is just the start of a series of something different

more pictures to come...

Frikin' Rad!
Genious.

On 2010-05-22 15:41, tiki beat by marcus thorn wrote:
I have been driving down to Taree in NSW lately to work on my car and its freezing down there - doesnt stay cold too long when your working around the welder though. The Buick is so close to being finished now I can almost smell that final coat of paint! Cant wait to drive her home. its been a long voyage and if I ever even think about building another custom my wife will have me put away!

Thats a long drive! Having said that, seeing the quality of work that comes out of the shop, it's all worth it.

amazing marcus you have a gift.

Hey, WHO IS this Guy??

Don't we know him from somewhere, and do you have permission to carve him??
cool stuff Marcus :P :o

So here are the progress shots and completed photos before he got shipped off to Gasoline Gallery in LA -for California Screamin Show.

Thanks for all the positive feedback as always your kind words are a inspiration to keep carving.

Man Marcus, you are doing some killer carving!
The latest is just stunning. Awesome work!

amazing stuff as usual MArcus. He's got quite the expression on his face.

Great to hear about the buick, i bet you'll be a happy camper when thats all done!

I'm sure those big guys in Hawaii will find a good new home. congrats on the LA show too.

Amazing work dude, knocked this one outa the ballpark!

SWEEEEEEET! The detail and the overall impression are wonderful! Great work as usual.

My friend, unbelieveable. What you do is just that.
Bummed I missed your call last week - hope to catch up soon~!!!
Andy

Amazing work. Reminds me of a Zombie mix of MJ & the King.

Off the chain Brother, OFF The Chain!!!!! standing O from florida,Mooney

one word uber RESPECT

Von Limo

Aloha Marcus! Great carve. Elvis with snear and Muttonchop sideburns? :) Awesome stainwork.

Freddie

A very exciting thing has occurred, I have made the decision to take two years off from travelling to Hawaii (due to the financial situation over there developments have almost stopped) and now have the time to create pieces for Gallery shows here in Australia and overseas and finally, can organize the workshops on carving, that I have been asked about over the last five years, here in Australia and overseas. I will still be travelling to the States to attend shows that Im involved in and Hawaii for fun!

I will be starting these workshops in Brisbane in August 2010. Beginners workshops commencing Saturday 7 August 10am – 2pm there will be four of these Workshops on each Saturday of August. It will basically be the same lesson each week, so if you want to attend just one that’s fine – or you can attend as many as you feel you need before moving onto Intermediate workshop.

Intermediate Workshop will be held in September it will be a more structured lesson – refining techniques, using different tools to obtain different effects and then we will talk about staining and other techniques used to finish off the carvings.

Then if there is a demand I will hold Advanced Workshop group to explore other types of carvings.

Beginners Workshop costs will include everything you need to get started.
If you live interstate and you are interested in attending please contact me we can assist you with accommodation in the area. If I get enough enquiries from other states I will take the Workshop on the road, so talk to your mates and get a group together I will need at least 8 people per workshop to make it worth packing the tools and hitting the road – I can do a two day workshop interstate. For overseas people - if you can get a group together I will make the journey!

If you are interested in attending these workshops please email me at [email protected] I will send you all the available dates and information you need.

I’M EXCITED!!!