Painting Pachyderms: Elephants As Artists. And Other Animals That Paint.

Imagine a gallery where the works hung on the walls aren't that of Picasso, Matisse and Gauguin, but instead by Pigcasso, Tillamook and Kooba. (True, Picasso was often referred to as an 'animal', but in this case, I'm talking about an actual animal).

The following video is pretty unbelievable (but is real and unaltered). If you can, watch it through to the end to see the finished painting.



Don't believe it? It's true.

Here's are 2 examples of finished pieces by the same elephant, Hong, in the video above, that recently sold for $500.00 a piece:



A bit more about the artist, Hong:

LOCATION: Chiang Mai, THAILAND
CAMP: Maetaman Elephant Camp
ART TEACHER: Khun Tossapol Petcharattanakool
ELEPHANT: Hong
SEX: Female
AGE: 8
MAHOUT: Mr. Noi Rakchang

HONG'S BIO: At six years old, Hong has a very curious nature. She loves to investigate everything and once managed to use her trunk to open the door of a truck. This kind of curiosity made Hong a natural candidate for artistic instruction. Two years ago, Hong began painting with her mahout, Noi Rakchang, and has steadily developed her skills. After learning how to paint flowers, she moved on to more advanced paintings. She now has two specialties. One is an elephant holding flowers with her trunk, and the other is the Thai flag. An elephant with so much control and dexterity is capable of amazing work. Just for clarification, with these realistic figural works, the elephant is still the only one making the marks on the paper but the paintings are learned series of brushstrokes not Hong painting a still life on her own.

If you want to see a gallery of elephant paintings and even purchase one, go here.

By the way, elephants aren't the only animals whose paintings are hung in galleries. There are several other four legged painters.


Above: A jack russell terrier named Tillie, with an impressive gallery of work, a schedule of showings and even a gift shop. (photos by Brooke Jacobs) See her whole site here


Above: Sammy, a foxhound mix, uses a paintbrush attached to a rubber bone to paint a canvas on June 12, 2007, at a gallery at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md. Mary Stadelbacher, owner of Shore Service Dogs, has a collection of abstract paintings daubed by her three service dogs in training. (Photo: AP Photo/Matthew S. Gunby)


Above: Pinto, an accomplished painter for a Yucatan miniature pig, gets his snout into an original work of art on Feb. 23, 2006, at Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Ill. Using a selection of non-toxic primary colors, Pinto mixes them in innovative ways (hooves, snout, objects and sometimes food items) to create his one-of-a-kind masterpieces. (Photo: AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)


Above: Koopa, a Gulf Coast box turtle, creates a summer-themed custom ordered painting for a buyer in Australia at the home of his owner, Kira Varszegi in Hartford, Conn., on Aug. 24, 2004. Koopa's paintings sold on eBay for hundreds of dollars, and his pieces hang in 35 of the 50 states. (Photo: AP Photo/Jessica Hill)