The Artwork of Betty LaDuke

Visit Heifer Village to view Betty LaDuke's 100-foot mural sequence titled “Dreaming Cows.”

Betty LaDuke’s life was dramatically affected by her first Heifer International Study Tour to Uganda and Rwanda in 2003. During that and her many subsequent trips, this widely celebrated artist has captured the hopes, beauty and dignity of the people helped by Heifer. Using her sketch pad, she captures with amazing speed the scenes and events in front of her. Back at her Oregon studio, she translates those sketches into large and breath-taking “dimensional paintings” of acrylic on wood.

The fruit of Betty LaDuke’s labor is a 90-foot mural sequence titled ‘Dreaming Cows,’ now hanging in Heifer Village. The title Dreaming Cows asks us all to imagine a world without poverty. Cows are a powerful symbol of food, fertility, health, income and community. This mural’s vivid colors, bold shapes and cultural symbols bring the work of Heifer’s project participants to life. Each panel tells the story of a different family or community around the world. Through the brilliantly colored images of Betty LaDuke, viewers are transported on a journey from the Bronx to Bolivia, and from Vietnam to Kosovo.

Watch Betty LaDuke as she explains her work.