Gary Baseman

Gary Baseman is an amazing artist. He uses cute and cuddly characters and puts them in weird dark scenes. This creates an interesting juxtaposition and means the paintings always seem friendly in an Acme sort of way. His work is home to characters with very phallic noses, goofy wide eyed dogs, winking devils and decapitated clowns. It is the fact that the characters are so loveable and adorable that makes their disgusting actions seem ok.

Baseman claims to 'smudge the line between genius and stupidity beyond recognition' and I think this is very true. His obvious influences such as looney toons and Warner Brothers can all be found in his work, but his style is so unique and definitely influences my own work. His colours are often primary but his designs are always simple , which helps give his genuinely funny characters, such as the peg legged bunny holding a lucky rabbit foot, a charm that not many other artists can create. His world is creepy and a tiny bit sexual, but it's so cute you just want to be a part of it.