Denise is a cow painter and I asked her what made her to start painting cows in the first place. This is what she said:
"The easiest answer to why cows is that they just make me smile, I love their faces, their demeanor, their attitude, the fact that they are not in too much of a hurry for anything. I just can't look into the eyes of a cow and not be intrigued, they are much more intelligent than they are given credit for I believe. I just can't help but smile and even laugh when I am with them."
"Wide Load Ahead"
I can really relate to all of her reasons. That's why I like cows too.
I have heard that that in high tech farms the cows can decide themselves when they want to get milked - so it's not any more necessary to wake up at 5.00 am to have that done. They can have a sleep in too! I also know that some clever people have developed machines through which the cows can walk to have their backs scratched. Sweet life.
The sad fact however is that cows do not get to live a full long life but are slaughtered when they are not productive anymore. This happens in their teens. Given a chance a cow could live up to 25 years.
Whilst I can naturally understand that, it still makes me sad. And I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not a vegetarian. Talking about double standards...
Nevertheless, my dream is one day to own a cow, who could live a long and happy life in a farm with back scratching machine and no alarm clocks. I realise that I will never own a farm myself but I would be willing to pay for the B&B for Mrs Cow if someone would be willing to have a long term lodger like that. I could then drive to the farm with a a friend. "Look at those cows. Do you see the one, with a happy smile on her face? She's mine. "
"Black Angus Cow and Calf"
The lovely pictures here are Denise's paintings. You can view them and more on her site and her blog. Or if you are in sunny San Diego, why not go and visit her gallery.
