Elephant Artist

Chiang Mai, Thailand

What do Van Gogh, Da Vinci and Dumbo have in common? Oil painting! No trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand would be complete without a visit to the Elephant Camp. There we got to witness an amazing performance - the Elephant Artist.

When we took our seats around the arena, we did not know what to expect. We had already enjoyed an entertaining elephant stunt show, survived an adventurous elephant ride through the rainforest and drifted down the river in a bamboo raft. It had been an awesome experience up to that point. But they had to save the best for last.

Several helpers brought easels out and placed them strategically around the arenas so the audience had a good of view of them. Nine elephants were trotted out and positioned in front of each easel. Their trainers dipped brushes with paint and handed it to them. How charming, I thought. They're going to splatter paint on the easel and create some abstract art. I had seen that on TV before. Some elephant in a zoo named Ruby did that.

But wait a minute. These lumbering behemoths were not splashing paint randomly. No, these were serious artists who drew deliberate strokes across the canvas. We watched with abated breath and disbelieving eyes as the strokes revealed a drawing, a flower here, an elephant there. With full concentration, each elephant painstakingly drew what they had obviously practiced for long hours. Everyone marveled as how they would rest the base of their trunk on the easel so they could move their paint brush with precision. One cheeky elephant even drew an x-rated painting - an elephant humping another. He obviously had his mind in the gutter.

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When they were done, these works of art were proudly displayed for sale. We acquired one for a handsome fee of $35.00. We also picked up a photo frame made from elephant dung. It had been nicely dried and painted and stench-proofed. And really, you couldn't tell.