6 Professional Painters from the Animal Kingdom

Note: This article was originally published in 2009. We're knee deep in server migration this week, so forgive us for reposting a few oldies/goodies.

Humans are not the only species to create art. You can argue all day about what is art and what isn't, but some animals are selling their creations, which puts them a notch closer to being true artists than most of us! Here are six different species of professional artists.

1. Koopa the Turtle

Koopa is a turtle belonging to artist Kira Ayn Varszegi. Kira taught Koopa many tricks over the years, such as standing on his hind legs and painting. Watch a video of Koopa in action. During a 5-year painting career, Koopa produced 827 paintings, which you have to admit is fast work for a turtle! He is retired now due to some health issues, although some of his paintings are still for sale. You can keep up with Koopa through his MySpace page or through Kira's blog.

2. Stewie the Tamandua

Stewie the tamandua was what most of us would call an anteater. Stewie and his companion Pua (also a trained tamandua) appeared in one of the Dr. Dolittle sequels. In addition to acting, Stewie had a talent for painting. Watch Stewie learn to paint in this video. Unfortunately, Stewie died of an autoimmune problem in February of 2008. But he lives on in photos and artwork.

3. Cheeta the Chimpanzee

It's no surprise that many apes, our nearest relatives, create art. Probably the most famous simian painter is Cheeta, the retired star of many Tarzan movies. Cheeta, now 76 years old, lives at the C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary in Palm Springs, California, and his main hobby now is painting. You can buy one of Cheeta's masterpieces for $125 plus shipping costs, which will help support the sanctuary.

4. Smithfield the Pig

Smithfield the Vietnamese potbellied pig always showed an aptitude for learning new things. A resident of Richmond, Virginia, he paints pictures by holding a brush in his mouth. In addition to painting, Smithfield makes personal appearances for groups and on TV, where he performs his repertoire of tricks like posing for pictures and playing musical instruments. He has survived two bouts of cancer, which left him with a hole on the top of his snout. You can buy Smithfield's paintings through his website.

5. Cholla the Horse

Cholla is a mustang-quarter horse mix who displays an unusual talent for painting -for a horse, that is. Cholla was 19 years old before he took a brush in his mouth. He was distrustful of humans for many years until his owner Renee won him over and he began to follow here everywhere, even watching her as she painted the fence. When Renee gave him paintbrushes and a heavy-duty easel, his art career took off. The sales of Cholla's artwork benefits an entire list of charities.

6. Hong the Elephant

Hong is one of many elephants involved with the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project. Rescued from an abusive owner, she lives at the Maetaman Elephant Camp in Thailand, where a total of nine elephants have learned to paint. Unlike other animal artists, the elephants produce representative paintings instead of abstract art!

Originally, Khun Anchalee Kalmapijit, the Operations Director, learned elephant painting from the Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang.  Khun Anchalee initiated elephant artists learning to paint for the first time ever in Chiang Mai in 2000.  At the beginning, she and the mahouts trained the elephants to hold the brush by putting it into their trunk.  For a while, the elephants refused to hold the brush, they were uncomfortable with the strange brushes placed in their trunks and let them fall to the ground.  It took some time for them to accept it because elephants naturally pick up things by rolling their trunk and holding.  After the elephants could hold the brush by their trunk, they were given brushes with color.  Then, the elephants chose to draw lines up, down or put dots on the paper.  Their practice compares to how a human first learns to write "“ practice, practice, practice.  The elephants keep doing these until they have the skill to draw a proper line.  This step takes many months depending on how often they practice.  Some time later, when the mahouts want the elephants to paint a portrait or flowers, they put the lines that elephants can do together and train them to remember with lots of practice, bananas and sugar cane.

Watch Hong create one of her paintings in this video. When you buy an elephant painting, you help support the elephants and their sanctuaries.

I wonder how my house cats and hermit crabs would do with a set of watercolors...