Night Train (Original Acrylic Trompe L'Oeil Painting by Kim Testone)

"Night Train," acrylic on panel, 18" x 24". Professionally framed in a contemporary white floater frame. Based on a real-life gingerbread/cookie/candy/frosting model that I baked and decorated and then replicated with acrylic paint in the trompe l'oeil style. This means that the painting is virtually flat, but it is painted in a way that looks amazingly three-dimensional and highly realistic in its details. 

"Night Train" features a whimsical gingerbread train, pushing forward fast through the frosting snow of night. The sugar cookie stars are being blown backward through the dark blue frosting sky, and the puffs of smoke from the odd-looking smokestack of the train are also trailing. The candy wheels are also angled forward, exaggerating the forward motion of the train across the chocolate and vanilla wafer cookie tracks. In the foreground, a small cookie is decorated with a sweet little bunny, waving and entranced by the motion of the train. The candy windows of the train are backlit, as is some of the train and the exterior border of the scene, showing life in the night, hidden away in the train, illuminating the imaginary environment.

This piece was inspired by my childhood, living near the railroad tracks and the rare passenger trains that would pass by -- especially the night passenger trains. My family and I always had to wait at the tracks in our car to cross back or from our home. I'd often site in the back seat and try to count the cars of the freight trains, but the passenger trains? My imagination took off! I'd wonder about all of the people inside the train, where they were going, what made them choose a train instead of other more boring transportation. Passenger trains, to me, were magical. 

Like all of the piece in my trompe l'oeil foodscape series, I wanted "Night Train" to stand for hope. I think it's a beautiful magical moment filled with great rushing motion and a flurry of activity, yet incredibly peaceful and quiet. I imagined that all of the people in the train were so happy, just to be able to enjoy the train and the night sky.
 
This piece has a bit more variety of food objects in it than my others: gingerbread train, cookie stars and bunny, and the wafer cookie tracks with the candy wheels. It's also the first piece I used lights as a special effect; when I built my real-life model, I turned out my main room lights and laid Christmas lights around parts and behind parts, which gave me an excellent reference for how things would appear lit in this fictional world. 

For those who wonder why I use cookies and frosting as the basic for these foodscapes, I really wanted the works to be accessible to a wide range of people. Using food elements, and particularly recognizable sweet treats, allows an easier entry point for viewers to enjoy and thoughtfully consider the work.

You can watch the full design and painting process for "Night Train" on my TikTok here. 

Questions? Please feel free to contact us here. 

Prints available soon.