I joyfully accepted the invitation of Marie de Bruyne to participate in the Monacowparade. I saw my first Cow Parade in New York. I was with my children, Charles and Katya, rollerblading in Central Park. We saw one, then two, and then more. The whole city was in fact filled with life-size cows painted by different artists. The whole experience was, as my son says, “wired”.

Whilst painting totems and three-dimensional forms I had already overcome the limitation of painting on a flat canvas. I could now express a ‘deeper language’, no matter on what surface, how or with what. I realized that I had climbed another level. I had broken new boundaries, taken another step.

Alfredo* tells me: ”When artists do something new, approach something slightly differently, even a tiny bit, they have added their voice to the path of creative evolution.”

Ce n’est pas une vache! This is not a cow!

This statement allowed me to get along with ‘the act of painting’ on its own. It also invites the observer to look beyond a tangible shape and find his own answers, if any.

However, as I was painting my cow I fell in love with her – as a cow!

For more information please contact owanto@monaco.mc