The historical downtown streets and alleyways of Wichita Falls have added some animated residents.

At the bottom of several downtown telephone poles (and some up higher), brightly hand-painted gnomes rest on small blocks of wood. Easy to miss at just about 5 inches tall, the blocks of art were left by an anonymous "gnomer."

However, according to Enchanted America, the cheerful trend began four years ago in Oakland, California. The California "gnomer" would wait for night to make his mysterious contributions and Oakland received over 7,000 blocks of wood. He said he wanted to add cheer to his community and was inspired after reading the book "Gnomes."

That same artist has since moved to Lawton, Oklahoma. Coincidentally, many surrounding areas of Lawton have since landed the whimsical creatures in a similar manner.

The mystical gnome paintings began appearing in Texoma around November of last year and tell a story with a variety of actions, facial expressions and lives to them. A few even peek out above and below surrounding foliage.

The gnomes can be found in any number of streets and alleys through Wichita Falls, including alleys behind Casa Mañana, the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum, and The Iron Horse Pub.

There are said to be anywhere from 50 to 100 painted gnomes in Wichita Falls. A witness near the area said she observed the mystery artist while he was screwing them to the bottom of poles and he told her, “This is the only graffiti I do.”

A Facebook page has even been set up featuring the cute, magical creatures. The "OK Gnomes" page, presumably run by the person behind the guerrilla art, falls under the category of "artist" and is gaining popularity in the area with 249 likes.

However small, these gnomes are the perfect height for childrens' eyes. So take the kids out and have a scavenger hunt and then share your pictures with us on our Facebook page!

And in case you were wondering, a donsy is a gathering or group of gnomes.

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