Calling Your Inner Baby

Lighten up with Garden Gnomes & Ice Cream Cones, a celebration of whimsy and popular icons in painting. The images in this collection appeal to the inner baby in all of us.

 

Many of our favorite icons from childhood resemble babies with big heads, large eyes, and round puffy forms…Pop ‘n Fresh, the Michelin Man, Big Boy…to name a few. And what baby doesn’t love ice cream? Garden gnomes, with their red pointy hats and full white beards, resemble inverted ice cream cones. They are at times charming and dissonant depending on the context. Some people find them creepy, others, the depth of kitsch, but many, like me, find them oddly addictive. The movie Amelie elevated the garden gnome to the big screen, while Travelocity made it ubiquitous on TV and the Internet. Now they are cropping up in paintings next to snowmen (another baby-like form), cats, and giant ice cream cones.

     

Smaller paintings celebrate our favorite confections found in coffee shops and Dairy Queens: fruit tarts, cupcakes, soft-serve, and double-dips. Tuck in and enjoy! These treats are a feast for the eyes that won’t make you fat.