What is the theme in Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins?

Skinny Legs and All holds up many items for ridicule and/or satire, but Robbins spends a lot of time trying to define what art is, and what is good and bad art. The main vehicle for this exercise is Ellen Cherry Charles and her husband, Boomer Petway. An artist since her youth, Robbins sees her as the artistic ideal. Ellen Cherry is never happier than when she is painting, but it is a relationship that overshadows her feelings for her husband. Robbins uses the big city art scene for further proof of modern art's absurdity.