Officially, the painting is watercolour and charcoal on canvas. That’s what the show catalogue says.
It leaves out the horse manure.
Vancouver Island artist Wendy Chartrand made her own paint from manure and water, used it to paint U.S. President Donald Trump, and called the result “The Don of Dung.” It sold for $1,800 at the Sooke Fine Arts Show on Saturday, July 25, the show’s first regular day.
Months later, the portrait is making the rounds on social media again.
Yes, it’s real manure
Chartrand explained the material in her artist’s statement next to the painting. She said the medium was one she made from water and horse manure, which “seemed appropriate considering the subject.”
She confirmed to Victoria Buzz that it wasn’t just a joke in the title. There’s actual manure in the painting.
And not just manure. Chartrand said if you looked at it under a microscope, she was sure you’d find bits of hay and traces of parasites common to horses.
How she made it
Chartrand has horses, so supply wasn’t a problem.
She mixed the manure with water, mashed it and strained it into a homemade watercolour. She wore a mask while she worked.
She built up the portrait with many layers of that paint, then used charcoal for the drawing and the dark areas.
Once it dried, she sprayed it with several coats of lacquer. That keeps it from smudging and seals in the smell.
The finished canvas is 28 by 22 inches.
Why she painted Trump
Chartrand told Victoria Buzz that “inspiration” might not be the right word. “Possibly more aggravation or frustration,” she said.
She said she, like a lot of people, didn’t like the way Canadians were being treated, and she needed to vent. She called it freedom of expression.
She told CTV News much the same: Canadians get tired of what’s happening south of the border, and painting was her way of letting it out.
It came during a rough stretch for Canada and the U.S., with tariffs, trade fights and Trump’s repeated talk of Canada as the “51st state.”
It sold in a day
The Sooke Fine Arts Show held its Purchasers’ Preview Night on Friday, July 24. By the next day, “The Don of Dung” was gone at its full $1,800 asking price.
Chartrand said she was surprised and thrilled by how fast it sold.
The buyer asked to stay anonymous. Chartrand doesn’t know who it is, and said she’d like to find out so she can thank them.
If you missed it, note-card prints were sold in the show’s gift shop. Those nearly sold out too. Chartrand said people can contact her on social media for replicas.
She has also said she’s considering more manure portraits of politicians.
The show stood behind it
The Sooke Fine Arts Show is Vancouver Island’s longest-running juried art show, and 2026 was its 40th year. It ran until Aug. 3 at the SEAPARC Recreation Centre in Sooke, west of Victoria, with hundreds of works by artists from Vancouver Island and B.C.’s coastal islands.
Organizers said many pieces at the show celebrate beauty and nature, while others push people to think about social and political issues. Artists, they said, often use their work to ask questions and start conversations.
Executive director Jen Hayward told CTV the show has hung plenty of provocative pieces over its 40 years that reflected the politics of their time.
Both Chartrand and the show said they hope people pay attention to the rest of the art, too.
People are split
Online, the reaction falls along familiar lines.
Some people love it, calling it clever, funny and a fair way for a Canadian to vent. Others call it petty, or say it’s not art at all. Some suggest she pick Canadian politicians next.
Chartrand, for her part, isn’t trying to please everyone. “It’s just good to laugh at stuff sometimes,” she told CTV.
So: clever political satire, or too far?
Sources
Sooke Fine Arts Show 2026, Sooke Fine Arts Society
Comments
Conversation