Art by Swamp Fire aka Doug Horne

Really enjoy your twist on he animals. The boh have nide tails. LMAO.(laughing my as off)

Love the rat rod! Is the rod based on a pic out of "the birth of hot rodding" a book on dry laeks racing history? The evenly spaced pipes in the hood sides rings a bell. I borrowed the book a couple of years ago - awesome!

Awesome work - very nice.

What about a tiki based rod done in this kind of style?

Swampy, Nice Ride. I don't know who is taking who for a ride, is the monkey taking the girl for a ride or is the girl taking the monkee for a ride. Whichever, their Ride is Awesome and one I would have been proud to own.
It has been awhile since you showed your stuff, I've missed it. Excellent. As I'm shaking my head, the drool is spalshing Everywhere.

Doug, Great art, i just ordered two prints...cant wait to get them...

Ooh, I love it SF!

Wow , what amazing curves and lines . The car looks good too. I really like the patina finish.

Doug, it was great to see your stuff at the the Tempe Arts Festival last Fall!!! Love the mug trio you did and the Atomic Rum Revelation. Both are proudly on display. I still have to find frames that are worthy for several of your prints. I think Rat-Rod Girl is great. Is it available on your site or Ebay? Look forward to running into you again, maybe at the Bikini sometime.

Wow. Very nice. Nice drawing and textures. Dig the haughty(?) look on her face. Is all of that color work vector? Pretty amazing.

That girl looks real familiar. Is she the same one that is sitting at the bar in the Gecko print? Do we know her? :wink:

Nice job. I like your monkey/rat :lol:

SF, Thanks for the quick delivery, we love them.

Aloha everyone, below is the poster art for the Tucson, Kon Tiki Grand Re-Dedication party. The limited edition tiki mug is shown to the right and comes with a pendant around his neck. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the party April 22nd, fun times.

"Welcome to Paradise"

Detail

Great poster and mug. The suspicious/jealeous monkey is a nice touch. I also particularly like the painted tiki in the corner. I don't see them often. The subtlety of the volcano kinda makes the whole thing. Real nice.

Great poster. You have a great style.

See it in motion at http://www.tikifarm.com

Arrrrr-some!

Great Poster SwampFire. How did you get your Monkey to look like Crazy Al? Or is it Crazy Al that looks like the Monkey. Love your art, as it includes so much hilarious stuff.

i love your bright vibrant colors. Awesome stuff Swamp Fire! Cheers!

Thanks foamy, most of the tikis in the Kon Tiki are painted. In the book Tiki Road Trip it says the were painted to cover up graffiti, not sure it that is true. The tiki in the corner of the poster greets you as you enter the dining area of the resturant.

Thanks AlohaStation and PockyTiki

BambooBen, the animation turned out great. Too bad the artwork looks kind of rough, the poster was not finished at that stage when I sent it over to Holden.

Benz, thanks I really dig your art also and yes al is great inspiration for all of my monkey drawings.

Awesome art Swampy! Great detail, colour. just plain cool man. Love the expressions on the monkey and the puffer

Nice!! The kahiki pic. is such a great tribute!

On 2006-04-05 19:25, Swamp Fire wrote:
Thanks foamy, most of the tikis in the Kon Tiki are painted. In the book Tiki Road Trip it says the were painted to cover up graffiti, not sure it that is true. The tiki in the corner of the poster greets you as you enter the dining area of the resturant.

Thanks AlohaStation and PockyTiki

BambooBen, the animation turned out great. Too bad the artwork looks kind of rough, the poster was not finished at that stage when I sent it over to Holden.

Benz, thanks I really dig your art also and yes al is great inspiration for all of my monkey drawings.

Hey Swamp-

I think everything will look great as soon as we get some of those Scorpions down our throats!!

Looking forward to meeting you again and sluring together!!!

It all looks great now!!

Amazing as always. I swear I find something different everytime I look at one of your paintings.

Swamp,
I always dig your work and you didnt let me down with this one...Nice. You have such a clean style, plus you can never go wrong with a drunk monkey.

Quick question for you...about how many hours do you put into a piece like this one from conception to finished product?

"He who does anything because it is the custom makes no choice."
Tiki Jam 2

[ Edited by: Loki 2006-04-06 05:06 ]

Thanks Hewey, Sneakytiki, rodeotiki. I really appreciate that.

Ben, sounds cool. In the frenzy of tiki oasis we have not gotten to talk much. I look forward to building a straw chain with you.

Loki, thanks. I usually start with a pencil sketch outside of the computer and scan that to use as a guide. Draw it out in a program called Illustrator and do the final rendering in Photoshop. The Kon Tiki piece was about 20 hours or so. I've never actually timed how long a peice takes me, not that organized I guess.

swampy, do you use a wacom or painter at all? i've still got my 9 x 12 intuos sitting on my desk with no use since december. maybe we can talk more in AZ. i'll also be at the henderson art fair in may.

When creating my book with most of my tiki inspired art in it I wanted to write a fictitious story around the Swamp Fire Lounge, my fictional tiki temple. The story opens the book and I think it adds a little something more than just some paintings. I was thinking of a story you might find in a mens magazine from the 1950's, kind of cheesy but fun at the same time. I had a great time writing it even though writing is not a strong point for me. Below is the story, I thought you guys would enjoy it. Added some paintings I did that relate to the story.

Surviving the Head-Hungry Javaro Tribe!

The year was 1958 and Jack Masters was living in Manhattan working as a staff artist for the R. L. Powers Advertising Agency. After 10 years with Powers he felt the company had drained all of his creative energy like a vampire feeding on one of its victims. His job consisted of pasting up ads for the back of comic books: "X-Ray" Specs, Hey Skinny! Charles Atlas ads, Super Sea-Monkeys, and the rest. For an artist this was the lowest of the low. He knew his talent was being wasted but had no idea how to escape the rut. After years of his boss yelling, "Make the logo bigger!" and "No green, I hate green!" he was ready for a change. Little did he know that change was up the street and just around the corner.

After a long day at the office Masters clocked out and started on the walk to his studio apartment. Like most days he was tired and had a slight headache from inhaling rubber cement fumes. When he hit the corner of 3rd Ave and St. Marks he changed his usual travel routine. Jack didn't know what possessed him but he found himself walking down St. Marks headed for the park. As he walked up the street he saw a bar he had never seen before. It was a large A-frame structure with a palm-thatched roof straddled by two giant Moi Tikis with three-foot flames shooting from the tops of their heads. The walls of the building were made of flagstone framed with bamboo. Towering over the structure was a large neon sign that read, Swap Fire Lounge. He had a hard time understanding how he could have missed a place like this in the middle of the concrete jungle! Given his state of mind there was no way he was going to skip a chance to have a drink there. When he walked in it was like being transported to another place and time. On the walls hung bamboo-framed velvet paintings of female nudes. In the center of the room was a pond and a Tiki fountain surrounded by lush tropical plants. The room was lit only by candles in fishnet-wrapped red glass globes that kept most everything in darkness. In the background, mixed with the sound of flowing water, played exotic music unlike anything Masters had heard before. Immediately he knew this place could become a regular hangout.

When he sat down at the bar the bartender recommended that Jack try a Zombie, a drink with three types of rum in it. Three types of rum sounded like a ticket to paradise so he ordered one. While the bartender made the drink Jack noticed a shrunken head hanging behind the bar. Near the cash register was a sign that read, "Unruly customers pay with their heads!" With its sewn-shut eyes and mouth and long matted hair, the head was quite a sight. He had done a number of comic book ads for phony shrunken heads but the head behind the bar actually looked authentic. As the bartender served the drink Jack noticed he was wearing a wooden shrunken head pendant around his neck. After a few swigs of the grog Masters found himself enjoying the shrunken heads and the atmosphere of the room. With a few more swigs the room started to sway back and forth, like he was riding Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki raft. The swaying soon turned to spinning and he started seeing things: did that puffer fish hanging from the ceiling just wink at me? Are the nudes on the wall walking out of their picture frames? He quickly lost control completely and did a face plant on the top of the bar. It seems Jack had been slipped a Mickey Finn!

The sound of drumming became louder and louder as Masters came out of his drugged haze. He found himself sitting in the dirt tied to a Tiki totem. His head throbbed and he felt ragged and disheveled. He didn't know how long he had been out. He was in a jungle clearing lit by a fire a few yards away. Dancing around the fire with excited gyrations were jungle tribesmen and topless women. Any other time this would be great fun to watch but this was far from fun. Off to one side was what looked like a voodoo witch doctor seated on the ground in front of a small primitive wooden table covered with various objects. With only the fire to light the scene Jack had a hard time making out what was resting on the table. As his eyesight adjusted to the darkness he realized with horror that the objects on the table were shrunken heads, each with its own ghastly expression. His next thought was that this was either an incredibly elaborate practical joke or he was in line to be the next victim of a head-hungry jungle tribe. From the looks of things, this was the real deal!

With the tribesmen lost in their dancing Masters knew this might be his only chance to escape. He struggled to free himself from the twine ropes by rubbing them against the rough surface of the Tiki pole. Sweat poured down his face.
Soon the rope began to fray and then it snapped apart. With his hands free he was able to slip away from the dimly lit scene. He dashed into the dense jungle and soon came to another clearing, this time dotted with a collection of thatched-roof huts. Fortunately there was not a person in sight and he darted towards a hut headed for freedom. As he passed the hut he tripped and fell over a pile of burlap bags that were obscured by the darkness. Once he got his bearings he noticed the contents of one of the bags spilled out on the ground. The bag was filled with small wooden Tikis, paintings done on rough paper, and what looked like a handmade book. The book stood out as something unusual and he instinctively grabbed it and ran back into the dark jungle.

The tale of how Jack Masters traveled the long and torturous path to the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru and then on to a plane headed back to the United States will have to wait for another time. As he sat on the plane he overcame his exhaustion long enough to take a look at the book he had held on to as evidence of his bizarre encounter with the evil head-hunting tribe. It was titled, The Search for the Urban Tiki, which was just one of the book's strange features. It was bound with twine that resembled the rope used to bind him to the Tiki totem. At the ends of the twine were two bone beads in the shape of small human skulls. The book was covered in a strange green cork-like paper that looked handmade. The pages were filled with paintings of Tikis that looked to be from a different place and time. As Jack closed the unusual book he thought about the meaning of this incredible episode. He took it as a sign to return to the drawing and painting work that most interested him. When he returned to New York he quit his job at the advertising agency and started doing only the work he wanted to do.

Many months later, when he got up the nerve, he returned to the street where he first discovered the Swamp Fire Lounge. To his surprise he found a Walgreen's on the spot where the bar used to stand. 40 years later, the book still sits on his coffee table as a reminder that Jack Masters had survived meeting the head-hungry Jivaro tribe in the Peruvian Amazon.

Its a great story and an even better book. Lots of eye candy. Fancy paper, a great collection of Doug Horne Art.

Got to spend a couple hours looking it over before Kon Tiki and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Congrats, Doug! The artwork is superb as always. Also, I'm still digging that mug of yours too. It's right in eyeshot when I'm here at my computer.

I had always wondered about the meaning of your tag—now I know. Nice little piece and a great forward to your book. And, to echo everyone else—your work is excellent. I'm starting to notice your great high-lighting, particularly on the tikis. I really like your use of color, and the mood your work evokes works for me. I look forward to your posts. Guess I gotta start saving.

I have to go with the crowd! I own 4 of Doug's prints and they are wonderful. I always get lots of comments when people visit. There is a definite mood in his art. And the best part is, its financially accessible.

Thanks for the story. The picture looking and story reading was a nice escape, now back to huffing the rubber cement.

Bravo! That was a good read. Just what I needed to get away from the blahs of the day. It's great to have the image and the story together.

When does the movie come out? I here you can get Tom Cruise pretty cheaply nowadays... ugh.

Encore! Encore!

cheeky half

Good story man. Now I gotta go back to work because lunch time is over... :(

Man I wish I had the cash for one of those books!

Great art, great workmanship in the books, great storytelling.

Thanks everyone for the kind words.
I only have 8 more books to make of the 25 and I'm done with the project.
I'm really tired of hand tearing all of those pages not to mention the glue fumes.

That is COOL!
I dig the vision man! I also understand the creativity, effort and time that it takes to pull off such a project. And with your attention to detail...WTF when do you sleep?
Kick ass Job Swampz,

Chongolio

Swamp Fire and the Mrs. are super top notch TC talent.

That book is awesome and already have my dibs on one of them.

An artists work is never done.....

Glue fumes? Is that why youre such a mellow guy Swampfire?

Hi all, below is a painting I did for the Catalina Tiki Fest show in August.

I survived the head-hungry Jivaro tribe!
http://www.swampfirelounge.com/

[ Edited by: Swamp Fire 2006-06-25 11:18 ]

Cool! Your monkeys are becoming stars on their own! They should have their own spin-off or something. Am I making any sense? I guess I'm saying your monkeys are so cool looking they deserve their own sitcom! (the blowfish lamp could be their neighbor or something)

[ Edited by: The Granite Tiki 2006-06-25 11:18 ]

Cool stuff as usual. You have been playing a big part in the way tiki looks these days with all the prints and you working a good deal with Tiki farm. I good partnership

Cool poster!!
I see another Swampfire inspired carving in my future.

Kool art as always man! Love it :)

SWampy, I Really love the Catalina POster. That tiki is Awesome as is the fish and the Monkey. The mug looks so happy to have the fish finally leave and the Puffer fish is hangin around Trying to look soo Coool. FIne example of SwampFire Art.
HappyHappyHappy

On 2006-06-25 11:17, The Granite Tiki wrote:
Cool! Your monkeys are becoming stars on their own! They should have their own spin-off or something. I guess I'm saying your monkeys are so cool looking they deserve their own sitcom! (the blowfish lamp could be their neighbor or something)

Yes, and they could be the bullies of the Sponge Bob neighborhood. Put a kick me sign on Sponge Bob, jalapenos in his hamburger. I've been on this monkey kick lately, I have to get it out of my system. As a kid I wanted a monkey for a pet, who did'nt, that ended when I found out they had to wear diapers all of the time. Who wants a monkey running around the house wearing a diaper? It's just not right.

Teaky, hewey and Ben. Thanks I appreciate your comments.

Ona, that would be very cool.

I hate to sound repetitive but.....

I just never get tired of seeing your stuff. So vibrant and crisp. Whimsical and fun.

The event organizers are lucky to have your participation.

Yes, and they could be the bullies of the Sponge Bob neighborhood. Put a kick me sign on Sponge Bob, jalapenos in his hamburger.

Sounds like that monkey needs to be spanked!

Monkeyman couldn't have said it better--vibrant, crisp, fun, whimsical. I wish I could live inside one of your paintings-or maybe just visit every now and then!

great stuff doug. i'm trying my hardest to get to catalina. if that doesn't happen i'd like to hook up in october when you come to boulder city.

Doug,
Rec'd my prints last week. They are great. Forbidden Island and Legends.
I'm gonna build some bamboo frames for them. Hopefully, I can find my charger for the camera and I'll post picks soon, more likely latter.
Thanks,
Mr. NoNaMe

[ Edited by: Mr. NoNaMe 2009-05-14 14:22 ]

Hey Swamp Fire - very nice work mate - you have a style that brings out the subject - makes it pop outa the picture -the poster makes me want to grab a tiki mug fulla grog and sit down with the monkey and beat the drums. So much talent!

Monkeyman, surf-n-turf and Marcus, thanks for the comments!

pdrake, hope you can make it. I'm really looking forward to this event, this will be my first time on Catalina island. Fun times!

Mr. NoNaMe, glad you like them, thanks!