| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Artist Caroline Shotton's commercial success is based on the fact that ordinary people dislike classical art, according to a journalist. Art critic Jonathan Jones wrote in the Guardian that Caroline Shotton prints featuring cows in classic portraits are popular with regular people because they are personal and humorous. Shotton has transformed numerous classics by transplanting cows into memorable masterpieces such as painting the Mona Lisa as a cow and turning Munch's The Scream into The Moo, while Klimt's The Kiss has become The Smooch. Cow with a Pearl Earring, a cheeky take on Vermeer's magnum opus, is one of the most famous Caroline Shotton prints but has provoked scorn from conventional art critics, claims Jones. Jones, a juror for the 2009 Turner Prize, argues that the internet has helped make a star of Caroline Shotton and she now ranks alongside Jack Vettriano and Banksy as one of Britain's most bankable artists. He said: "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 £3m in sales." Jones went onto say that many Caroline Shotton prints are sold in response to pretentious art that has been hyped up by the media but is inaccessible to the general viewing public. "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," he added. Vegetarian Shotton claims that she constantly paints cows because she imagines them to be very much like children as they are cheeky, playful, mischievous and more intelligent than people give them credit for. The artist stated that her work enables her to pay homage to the world's most respected artists, whilst bringing a smile to people's faces and also introducing a younger audience to the work of the past masters. "My life seems to have been taken over by cows: I can't stop thinking about them and love the reaction my work gets. The more I paint the more I stretch the boundaries," she said. Shotton was introduced to the major art eras while studying at Central Saint Martins and claims to have been inspired and influenced by impressionist and surrealist painters. Caroline Shotton prints and originals are regularly exhibited in galleries across the United Kingdom in cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham.
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