Tiki

The origin of the character in this tiki illustration was an old Polynesian god who was in local island lore for many years. When Hawai’i was inducted as a state of the US, Tiki came to fame in America. Tiki was quickly adopted as a slightly camp addition to already established island cliche’s. Tiki has remained associated with that era and region until this day.

Why?

To me Tiki always resembled individualism and freedom. Compared to other religions this Tiki illustration to a deity that has no direct interest in punishment like most. Every island in the region has it’s own spins and twists on it and I can also mention the millions of different versions that came to pass over the years since. You can have this very piece of local lore right in your home with this custom Tiki illustration.

Materials

For this Tiki illustration I used a background and touches of Faber-Castell aquarelle pencils. I topped it off with Posca acrylic markers for extra effect. All was done on 25 grams white A-3 size paper. The frame is polished wood with a glass front plate.