Art Supplies Make Painter Millions

Commercial artist Caroline Shotton has become a millionaire since using art supplies to create paintings of cows.

The Metro newspaper reported that British painter Shotton has sold more than five thousand limited edition prints, which equates to a fortune in excess of three million pounds.

Thousands of the prints sold show cows that have been transferred into iconic paintings based on works of legendary artists such as Johannes Vermeer, Edvard Munch and Leonardo Da Vinci.

The most famous prints include a version of The Mona Lisa titled called Moona Lisa, a remake of The Scream labelled The Moo and a take on the painting Girl with the Pearl Earring renamed Cow with the Pearl Earring.

Caroline Shotton, a vegetarian who lives in the countryside outside of London, said she was inspired to create her bovine masterpieces after watching a programme about the Mona Lisa.

She said: "The collection transpired when I was watching a documentary about the Mona Lisa and it made me smile just thinking what the painting would look like if replaced with one of my cows. And then came the puns - The Moona Lisa."

Jonathan Jones, an art critic at the Guardian, said that prints painted by Caroline Shotton are popular with people because their subject matter makes them both personal and humorous.

Mr Jones, a juror for the 2009 Turner Prize, said that Caroline Shotton now ranks alongside Banksy and Jack Vettriano as one of Britain's most bankable artists because of her popularity on the internet.

He wrote in the Guardian: "Her works sell in limited-edition prints on block canvas through local dealers and online art stores at up to £600 a time; this has been touted as totalling £3 million in sales."

Jones also said that many Caroline Shotton prints are bought by a public who are disillusioned with pretentious exhibitions that have been hyped up by the media but are ultimately inaccessible to ordinary people.

He added in the newspaper:" You feel you have to go and see King Tut or the Turner prize - and come away so bored and alienated you get your revenge by buying a print of Shotton's Moona Lisa."

The Fine Art Blog said that sales of Caroline Shotton prints demonstrate the artist's popularity with the general public and art collectors.

Caroline Shotton regularly exhibits in galleries across major cities in the United Kingdom such as London, Manchester and Newcastle.