Tattoo Simplicity: elephant

Nature holds a wealth of beauty and wonder that every once in a while, a photographer manages to capture in a single frame. Wild animals are a source of fascination for human beings - their lives may be harsher in some ways, but in many ways they embody a sense of freedom that people crave.

Above: "Zen Fox" by thrumyeye. Such a peaceful moment is rare in wild animals, who are generally alert and wary of danger. The features of the fox's face are sharper than the background areas, a technique that draws the eye to the focal point - the face. [source]

Above: Flamingos sleep while standing, tucking their heads under a wing for protection from the elements. In the nature photograph above, the photographer has captured the sleeping flamingo beautifully. By emphasizing the yin yang nature of the pose, the photographer has added a sense of balance and peace to the picture. [source]

Above: This photographer has caught this tiger in an almost human pose, as though the tiger is pulling a face, not just simply licking his paw. By personifying the animal subject, the photographer encourages empathy in the viewer. [source]

Above: This white lion is rare, but isn't a true albino. Most big cat species have a genetic strain that once in a while produces a pure white animal. If this lion was an albino, its eyes would be pink. [source]

Above: Photographers are often so focused on their animal subjects that they ignore the animal's natural habitat. This photographer has chosen to exhibit the polar bear as part of its environment. The unusual shape of the ice combined with the beautiful colors add to the natural beauty of the polar bear. [source]

Above: This photographer is aware of the value of space within an image, giving the cute squirrel plenty of room to own this photograph. [source]

Above: An octopus in its aquatic environment, lit naturally by rays of sunlight shining through the water. The semi-translucent nature of the octopus's tentacles add to the feeling that the octopus is glowing. [source]

Above: Nature photography isn't always just a way to capture an amazing moment in time. Sometimes, the most effective photographs reveal a relationship between the animals and the photographer. In the picture above, the swans are angry to discover the photographer in their territory. The photographer has expressed his fear of the swans by capturing them with an upward angle, which makes the birds seem much larger than they actually are. [source]

Above: Young elephants are very playful, often running about while waving their trunks in the air. This photograph is an example of personification - humans recognize the open-mouthed expression on the animal's face as a smile. [source]

Above: One of nature's rarities, the glass winged butterfly. This beautiful creature is beautiful when set in contrast to colorful flowers, as in the photograph above. [source]

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It has been discovered that elephants enjoy a number of human past-times, such as games, dance and art. Elephant sanctuaries are now encouraging elephants to explore their creative talents by allowing the elephants to paint.

Elephant Artists

An elephant’s trunk can be thought of as being a long, supple appendage that allows the elephant to grip objects. Some elephant artists are taught by their trainers to hold a paintbrush by wrapping the tip of the trunk around the paintbrush, whereas others are encouraged to place the brush into a ‘nostril’ at the end of the trunk, to give the elephant more control over the brush.

Most elephant trainers will assist the elephant artist during the painting process. Some will guide the elephant’s trunk across the canvas, while others take a purist approach to art and leave the elephants to create their paintings unaided. Generally, an elephant trainer will set up the easel and canvas and load paint on to the brush before handing the paint brush to the elephant. Elephant artists have been known to get impatient with their assistants, and will tap the brush against the assistant’s chest to demand more paint.

Fine Art Paintings by Elephants

Elephants can be trained to reproduce recognizable images, such as other elephants, scenery, and recognizable objects such as flowers. They can even be taught to make self-portraits. However, to some this isn’t true elephant art. When left to create alone, elephants paint in an abstract style using lines, curves and dashes of paint to form the finished work.

Trained Elephant Paintings

Elephant trainers can teach an elephant to reproduce an image over and over again. The result is a picture that could have been drawn by an eight-year-old child. Although endearing, this form of art is losing popularity with elephant art fans, as the elephants are taught to paint these pictures as a performance, similar to a dog who has been taught to do tricks. For elephant art purists, these reproductions of the trainer’s initial design don’t constitute as ‘real’ elephant art.

Above: Elephants can be taught to reproduce a specific image, which they are then asked to reproduce for tourists. On each of the paintings above, you can see a stamp of authenticity – this shows that an elephant was the artists behind the painting. Whether this is truly ‘art’ or not depends on an individual’s opinion of what art is.

Untrained Elephant Paintings

Some elephant sanctuaries that specialize in elephant art will train an elephant to hold the brush and show the elephant how to apply paint to the paper, without teaching the elephant to create a specific shape on the page. These elephants are given the space and time needed to create whatever imagery they desire. The result is a simple, abstract collection of lines, shapes and colors.

Trainers claim that the elephants know when the piece is done, and the animal will often stand back and admire their work before heading down to a river to swim. It has also been suggested that like human artists, elephant artists have ‘off’ days, when the artistic well runs dry.

Buy Paintings by Elephants Online

Elephant art can be bought online through various websites. Here are just a few to get you started: Thai Fine Art, Elephant Art Gallery, Elephant Paintings, Elephant Art

Most elephant sanctuaries that are creating elephant art use the money raised by the paintings to create a better lifestyle for the elephants that they house. There are however some elephant owners who simply use the elephant’s creativity for their own gain. It is up to the buyer to decide which situation they would prefer to support through buying elephant art.

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