A pig who discovered a passion for painting after being rescued from a slaughterhouse brings in thousands of dollars through his artwork.
The sow, named Picasso, was rescued from a slaughterhouse as a piglet in 2016 and taken to a game reserve in Franschhoek, Western Cape, South Africa. This is where his new owners noticed his love of colour and brushes, and the improbable artist was born. Joanne Lefson, who runs Farm Sanctuary SA, said the painting began as a way to entertain Picasso when she was brought to the reserve barn. She says, “Pigs are very smart animals and when I brought Pigcasso here in the barn, I wondered how I could entertain her.“We added footballs, rugby balls and of course, there were brushes hanging around because the barn was newly built.“She ate or destroyed everything except those brushes. She loved them so much. “Shortly after his arrival, Picasso was already dipping brushes into paint cans and was making his mark. His paintings sell for up to $ 4,000 and the profits are donated to animal welfare projects. One of his works of art has even been transformed into a watch dial for the Swiss watchmaker Swatch, who announced last month collaboration with the animal.
The sow, named Picasso, was rescued from a slaughterhouse as a piglet in 2016 and taken to a game reserve in Franschhoek, Western Cape, South Africa. This is where his new owners noticed his love of colour and brushes, and the improbable artist was born. Joanne Lefson, who runs Farm Sanctuary SA, said the painting began as a way to entertain Picasso when she was brought to the reserve barn. She says, “Pigs are very smart animals and when I brought Pigcasso here in the barn, I wondered how I could entertain her.“We added footballs, rugby balls and of course, there were brushes hanging around because the barn was newly built.“She ate or destroyed everything except those brushes. She loved them so much. “Shortly after his arrival, Picasso was already dipping brushes into paint cans and was making his mark. His paintings sell for up to $ 4,000 and the profits are donated to animal welfare projects. One of his works of art has even been transformed into a watch dial for the Swiss watchmaker Swatch, who announced last month collaboration with the animal.
Lefson adds: “Picasso is definitely an abstract expressionist, we can not define exactly what she paints, but I can tell you that her style changes slightly according to her mood like any great artist.”
