surf soul tiki

so yeah, I took on a new project... Lol...

This is Kobe. He's 11 years old.

I met Kobe at the "Faces of Courage" event I do every year (I'm on my 5th year there)... basically it's a kids camp for poor kids with cancer, blood disorders, asthma, and other ailments... Kobe is one of the kids who just has Asthma, which is on the lighter end of the scale compared to a lot of the other kids there who have cancer.

But basically he's a kid who's dad bailed on him when he was little, his mom is very poor, and he's kind of a troubled kid. So I agreed to kinda take him under my wing and teach him how to make stuff, but he has to cut the bullshit at school so he doesn't get expelled, and not talk back to his mom...

so yeah, he's the "new guy"... lol... I hope I can help him...

You are a good man Jeff, however I would suggest you hold off buying the little tyke a chain saw and hook knife set for Christmas.

Cy, that's funny. Pjc, the two tikis in your last picture rock they are real nice.

Good on ya, man. Hope you can do him some good - sounds like he was dealt a fairly shitty hand...

Take care with this one as he has red glowing devil eyes.:)

I went to a good school as a kid and all of the trouble makers like me
ended up owning our own businesses.
The "good students" work for the man.

Good job!

thanks for the encouraging words guys... I'm a pretty strong-personality type of person, and this kid & I had a little showdown last year, but I stuck to my guns & made him kinda straighten up, so he respects me & understands that I'm not going to put up with any bullshit....

but the way I see it, I live a very charmed life. I mean, shit... I own my own business and make a pretty decent living doing what a lot of people do just for fun, I have a boat & surfboards to play with, and I generally have a lot of fun. I can share a little of that with him and give him something to look forward to, and give him a reason not to act like a little asshole... lol...

His mother texted me this morning and said he's so excited about working with me that she had a hard time getting him to go to bed last night. Hopefully I can leverage that to get him flyin' straight. :)

anyway, this lovely piece of cedar is going to be some kind of sales trophy for corona beer... let's do this...

ok, so this pic has GOT IT ALL!!!

2 espresso marquesian heads I did last week (fun quickies), the cedar buddha I'm slowly carvin' for my massage therapist who works on me for free (also one of my ex's), the slabs next to the door are southern mahogany & I've got 2 more makua's drawn out on there, the crown for corona beer is up there next to the black jug of chainsaw oil (pain in the ass), and the angel is one that my buddy from vegas showed up at my house with after he'd been drinking beer all day,,, I'm puttin' a screw-in bowl on the end of the horn & making it the BONG ANGEL... lol...

and these are 2 halves of the same 8 1/2 foot dbl decker Marq I'm about to cut,,

tiki shift knob I did for Mr. Gasket's "Lime Crush" 65 Chevy Suburban build...

southern florida mahogany,,,

another shot of yesterday's shift-knob...

and one of today's... my buddy Dallas is president & founded of the F-BOMBS car club, so his shift knob is a little bomb... :)

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2013-12-17 13:26 ]

Great stuff cuz
I've said it before n I'll say it again
"you are one busy dude"
:)

Jon

lol... yeah, that I am..

more progress pics... the big marquesian...

here's what I finished yesterday... kind of a shitty pic with the lighting & whatever, so it's hard to see the details.. but the other 2 close up shots show how nice the grain looked on this guy.

Cool grain on your latest, really like the f bomb!

ok, well this dude has been sitting around half done for like a year, so I put him on the bench yesterday & today and got back on him....

ok, so this is what I'm spending my friday night on...

20 minutes of chiselin'. then 20 minutes of rest, tv & internet,..

20 on, 20 off...

ok, I stopped at like 1am... but I'm happy with him so far...

I really like the way that looks. Great work. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that has stayed up really late at night carving.

20 on 20 off
Let me guess, you did it for 3 days straight
:)

well, I must say, my LOG PORN isn't nearly as exciting as what's happenin' on Will's thread with that big sexy hunk of rosewood, but I loaded up on cypress at the sawmill yesterday & I'm about to get after it...

I got lucky & got a discounted artist spot at this year's home show... so I plan on takin' a bunch of tikis, fish, driftwood, etc...

I have a lot to get done..

and the new kanaloa is coming along nicely as well.. :)

well ok, this dude is close to done...

just need to separate those legs a little, and finish detailing the mouth and nose...

and then figure out what color he's gonna be... I'm leanin' towards espresso since it hides everything & I don't feel like doing a bunch of sanding...

well. ok... here's what I made yesterday.

unfortunately it was dark when I finished it, so all I have is this rough cut photo from when he was half done... but I was very happy with is overall shape... I think I actually improved a little on this guy. I do A LOT of ku's... it's pretty much my most popular piece... but this is my favorite ku body that I've done yet. :)

I'm goin' out to see the customer in a few days to look at him in the daylight to make sure I don't need to tune anything up-... I'll get some better pics then...

but it was a very colorful piece of cypress and he was just under 6 ft...

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2013-12-28 11:19 ]

All right.
I like big buts
& I can not lie.

this one was actually kinda inspired by some of your stuff Will...

:)

Impressive work & I like your designs.

Love your last piece. The design is real vintage looking.

so, styles evolve, and mine is no different...

this is kinda my "new ku"...

2nd one of this style with the Will-inspired head-dress & body profile... but I feel good about this design... I like it. :)

so, today we're movin' & shakin'...\

got a jingle from one of my lookey-lou's & got wind of a log pile... he said cedar, but I get there & it's definitely not cedar... so I knock on the door & the lady who lives there says it was a weeping elm...

So I spoke to the wise one, and he advised me to take all I could carry, and save a few logs for him...

aye aye sir... :wink:

anyway, very nice shape & color to these things...\

and the leaves were still green, which means they cut it live... I felt the cuts & it's still wet inside so it should carve nice....

Tom, whenever you swing through here with that rosewood log I'm gonna put some of this in your hands for you, Will, & Benz...

oh yeah, and I tried to call Will & found out he still rocks and 80's VINTAGE ANSWERING MACHINE... Lol...

I guess he couldn't hear that ROTARY DIAL phone ringing over the MOVIE he was watching on BETAMAX while playing his ATARI 2600....

LOL!!!

:D

anyway, enough screwin' around... time to turn this log into a fish...

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2013-12-31 08:29 ]

That's a fact.
And if I'm not home,
leave a message.
I'll get right back to ya.
Beep!

bada boom...

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2014-01-02 07:51 ]

bada bing,...

movin' & shakin' today gettin' pieces done for the home show,,,'

well, I didn't finish this dude today... but I will tomorrow...

live carving 3 days straight at the "Florida's Largest Home Show"... should be interesting,,,

[ Edited by: pjc5150 2014-01-02 19:24 ]

Cool stuff. I like the dark color on the last one. Good luck with the home show, I hope it pays off!

You may be the hardest workin' man in tikidom, good luck with the live carve, should be fun!

I may not be the most talented or whatever... but I can tell you this: I AM the most determined.

I just keep workin'... :wink:

so the home show went well, and seems like I got some business out of it...

nearly finished this ku while I was there...

and I let Kobe come down & get involved as well... we all had a good time. :)

so ok, I'm back to this guy now... he's overdue at his new home in Connecticut...

my most difficult draw-out EVER!!!

gawd, I am burned out on this.. lol..

He's going to look good when he's done.

ok, so I spent a little more time on the big marq, and kinda have the basic shape / design down...\

now I gotta clean him up & start tattooing. :)

so yeah, finished this yesterday & started another one today...

people are lovin' the new ku design...

A cool little twist on the way you did the eyes on that second Marq. Nice!

that's kinda my little marq design.. kinda angular - sharp eyes.. angry looking...

I've done a bunch like that...

Nice marq Jeff! Good to see you're still cranking em out like a madman. Love the vintagy look on the ku.

today's tiki...

That new Ku is looking good. Once again, like the new twist on the eyes!

thanks bro... yeah, basically that one was a recreation of the customer's tattoo...

so yeah, I have been somewhat blocked here lately... my dad who is already undergoing cancer treatment fell and broke his neck and back, so I've been a little messed up over that. But he seems to be ok, and the dust is settling, so I'm back on it...

so here is a piece of the weeping elm that I am roughing out for a lono carve,,,

really pretty stuff inside...