Business Is Booming For Cow Tail Art

Business Is Booming For Cow Tail Art DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Dairy Equipment & Ideas 20-6-17 A dairy barn may not be the most likely hangout for the next Rembrandt or Picasso. But don't try telling that to Missy and George Paust. The Blanchardville, Wis., couple and their 32 Holsteins are fast gaining a nationwide reputation for "cow tail art" they create right in the barn. The paintings are known as "thwok" art, named for the sound the cows tails make when they slap paint to canvas. Here's how it's done. A cow's tail is dipped in a washable, brightly-colored acrylic paint. A sheet of black paper is held up behind and the cow simply does her tail wagging thing. Usually, only one color is used at a time and the Pausts and their herd limit sessions to 10 paintings per morning. The Pausts stumbled upon the technique two years ago while trying to come up with a Father's Day gift idea for Missy's dad. He really liked the painting and so did friends who saw it. The rest is now history. Their "thwok" paintings were recently displayed at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. About 15 of the Pausts' Holsteins are now accomplished painters. Frieda, a fouryear-old, does particularly nice work," says Missy. "We don't force the issue with our older, more temperamental cows." Thwok paintings come in 18 by 36-in., 18 by 20-in. and 8 1/2 by 11-in. sizes and sell for $25 to $40. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Missy & George Paust, N 8822 Hay Hollow Road, Blanchardville, Wis. 53516 (ph 608 523-1987).

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