Snake In The Garden

Snake In The Garden
2008 - 11"x12", Mixed media on wood
Not For Sale
www.ErikVP.com

My wife named the painting. I really liked the name because it fits perfectly with the generic Freud/Jung sexual symbolisms that paintings with snakes and women are assumed to be about.

Here's an alternate theory to consider. I used to have a pet red tailed boa constrictor. She only ate rats, and I wondered if she had any interest in eating something else. I experimented with a variety of foods including McDonalds french fries & M&M's but she had no interest.

The snake in the painting likes M&M's and is curious about the purple M&M. She is smelling it with her tongue. The lady is watering her M&M garden but is aware the snake likes to eat M&M's. This is symbolized by the three M&M trees etched into the snake's body right behind the head, but it's not easy to see in the photo. The M&M trees that have no color aren't ripe yet.