Meet Pigcasso, the artistic pig whose paintings are sold for over Rs 2 Lakhs

If you’re avid social media user, you might have come across various viral videos of elephants and other animals trying their hand at painting and being creative, but I’m sure you’ve not met Pigcasso-the word’s first painting pig yet. Yes, you heard it right. Pigcasso- the painting pig was once rescued from a slaughterhouse when she was a piglet in 2016 and taken to an animal sanctuary in Franschhoek, in South Africa’s Western Cape region.

And, now after she discovered a love of painting, her owners earn thousands of dollars selling her artwork. The pig even has her very own website selling her masterpieces. As per media reports, Joanne Lefson, who runs the sanctuary, said that Picasso’s painting began as a way of keeping her entertained when she was brought to the sanctuary’s barn. And, soon after they noticed her love for colour and paint brushes, and just like that the unusual artist in her was born.

Lefson said: “Pigs are very smart animals and so when I brought Pigcasso here to the barn I thought how do I keep her entertained? We threw in some footballs, rugby balls and of course there were some paintbrushes lying around because the barn was newly built. She basically ate or destroyed everything except these paintbrushes. She loved them so much. And then she started dipping the brushes into pots of paint and making her mark.”

Pigcasso uses a tailor-made brush and child-friendly, non-toxic paint to make her masterpieces and also signs the corner of each of her complete paintings with the tip of her snout, using a mixture of beetroot and acrylic ink.

According to a report by The Independent, Pigcasso’s paintings can sell for almost $4,000 (Rs 2,89,768), and the money goes to animal welfare funds. She has even had one of her artworks turned into a watch face for Swiss watchmaker Swatch, which announced a collaboration with the animal last year.