Tale of a Small Town Cow

I walked into the Anonymous Art Show this afternoon at the Burrard Market, hoping to find a painting by one of my favourite local artists, expecting to be wowed by well-crafted landscapes, meaningful abstracts. Maggie greeted us at the door with her signature smile, bright and genuine and enthusiastic. I walked up one side of the room and down the other, trying to guess which paintings were done by which artist, looking for an artist I would recognize, to be honest, but open to whatever little treasure I might stumble upon. There were, I believe, about 130 local artists and amateurs and enthusiasts with works on display. How is one to narrow that down, to pick just one painting to take home at the end of the day? And then, there she was!

Our eyes met across the room and I had to smile. Those ears! Those eye lashes! All I could see was a gentle soul, frolicking in a meadow of buttercups. The reality may be a crusty steer in a feedlot, but my mind cannot choose to go there. To me she is a mischievous little heifer, happy and gentle, with an open heart. A muse, if you will. Painted with care and tenderness by a young artist with a sense of humour and some pretty promising technique! And she is now mine, watching me from her place above my writing desk, for the very reasonable price of $30!

If you collect art for the sake of owning expensive and important pieces, then you probably won’t get it. But to me, she is perfect.

(If you didn’t make it out to, or get your entry in to the Anonymous Art Show, well, I’m sorry for you! Truly. But keep your ear to the ground, because this one was so successful that I hear they plan to do it again next year. Yay!)

#SweetEsther