Laura & her Cow

My friend and mentor Jim suggested that I might enter a painting for the Niagara Gallery's  War of 1812 Competition. Personally, I have heard about, worried about and seen wars through the eye's of television since I was a young child. I remember huddling under our desks at school during an atom bomb drill because Russia planted 90 nuclear war heads in Cuba. Man's inhumanity towards his fellow man. I lack the motivation and inspiration to do a piece about this particular war or any war for that matter. I see only great sorrow for families on both sides of the conflicts.

But,there is a story about a very brave woman Laura Secord who risked her own life to warn the British  general of an imminent American attack during the war of 1812. I find her story interesting enough to make satirical comment. In my art group, there has been much discussion regarding Laura and her cow,mostly about where exactly Laura was living at the time and where exactly she found the general.

Being a Torontonian for most of my life, Laura's comings and goings were not a pressing intellectual problem of mine. I was just happy she warned the general and that we had not become the largest state in the union.( whatever would the Texan's have done!)

I began this painting initially with the idea of having it reflect the present day reality of what used to be a bloody battle field. But, Laura kept popping into my head and the on going dog gnawing on a bone discussion about her true home & where exactly she went to find the british. I discussed this with a fellow artist and he suggested that perhaps I should do a surrealistic painting and add Laura( and her cow) into the mix. So I did a little research on the battle at Chippewa, Laura, cows, row boats & war ships of 1812 and native indians. I gathered up the ideas and started to sketch Laura in a row boat crossing the Chippewa River. It made me giggle and worry about Laura being flipped into the drink with a honking huge cow on top of her ---then where would we have been??? But, what to do with the cow, bossy was an integral part of the story. Not wanting to insult all cows, I made her into a cartoon and put her in the stern of the row boat and had her hold a parasol to keep the sun from getting in her big brown eyes. What an absolutely silly idea! I picked up my paint brush and added this whimsical crazy idea to the realistic landscape.

It makes me laugh to think in 200 years we humans are still so arrogant that we think wars will solve problems.

Laura and her cow is still a work in progress.

(After thought, I think the cows' parisole should have a Union Jack pattern on it.) I think I'll sign this painting with a non de plume ----- maybe,