I don't paint historically correct Tikis. I paint Tiki's summer holiday reflection. I celebrate the Tiki tourists enjoy on their holiday vacation - found in gift shops & in Tiki Bars. The Tiki I paint is an Urban-Myth; a figment of holiday vacation superstition, like "Mr. Jack-o-Lantern", the "Easter Bunny", or "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer". My mission as a "Tiki-Artist" is to give this fun fictional figure an upgrade, and to help it keep up with our always evolving "Tiki-Pop-Culture". It felt like the Souvenir Tiki was falling behind & being forgotten, losing quality and respect. I'm here to help polish up this piece of Hawaiiana, dust off the attic cob webs, take it out of the "under a $1 box" at the yard sale, and set Mr. "Souvenir Tiki" on the Throne as ruler of "The Island of Misfit Pop-Culture Icons". Next time you buy a "Souvenir Tiki" and it's really awesome, & cool, & well worth the price tag value - that will mean my artistic mission was a success and I have brought Fine-Art into the Low-Brow Art world of souvenirs. Aloha!
-Brad "Tiki-Shark" Parker
