I started out as a portrait artist, but the burning of a local barn inspired me to do a series of paintings of the barns near my home. I set out to preserve on canvas the images of these rapidly disappearing structures before suburbia made them a memory. This naturally progressed to painting the cows that inhabit the landscape, and I realized that I find something peaceful and nurturing about cows. I recalled the excitement and joy of seeing them out of the rear car window on our family vacations. I feel that my portrait background comes through in my cow paintings. I paint cows not as animals, but as an extension of ourselves. The cows in my paintings seem to display human characteristics that we can all recognize, either in others or ourselves. Ultimately, my paintings are meant to make people smile or to bring notice to the beauty of our surroundings. I receive great pleasure when viewers of my art recall a fond memory or simply feel better after looking at it. - Sue Skowronski