Forget about Picasso, with oink and a brush, Pigcasso paints her way into people's hearts.
Pigcasso, the painting pig, was rescued from a slaughterhouse in 2016 by South African Joanne Lefson and brought to the Farm Sanctuary SA; It was Lefson who started the animal sanctuary in 2016. Her love for animals spurred her animal activism.
That's when the painting pig settled into her new home and did some redecorating.
A Love For All Animals
Lefson, who has a degree in Zoology from Texas A&M University, was a professional golfer, columnist, and sports presenter before turning to animal conservation. She began by adopting a dog, Oliver, from a Cape town shelter. She and Oscar began traveling around the world, rescuing animals and talking about dog adoption, calling it the World WOOF Tour.
She began Oscars Arc in 2016 as a tribute to the pup. The dog adoption agency works to save the lives of shelter dogs and has saved thousands over the years.
Around the same time, she founded the sanctuary to rescue farm animals, which is located in Franschhoek, South Africa. The work of Lefson and the rescue were brought to light when the little piglet she saved began her venture into the art world.
Pigcasso's Love For Painting
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This clever little painting piggy uses her snout and paintbrushes to create art fetching thousands of dollars for animal welfare. As the new owner of the rescued pig, Lefson wanted to find something to keep her occupied since pigs are incredibly talented creatures.
In the video, Lefson says she put a couple of balls and a paintbrush inside her pen. Ms. Pigcasso immediately took to the world of painting. With well-placed brush strokes, she became a four-legged abstract expressionist.
In an interview with CBS, Lefson said:
"For some reason, she took a knack to the paintbrushes, and it wasn't long before she was dancing the brush across the canvas and selling artworks all over the world."
Pigcasso even signs her paintings with her snout. Not bad for a painting pig!
Not Just Piggie Painting Canvases
Pigcasso, the painting pig's talents are not just relegated to a canvas. Swatch, a Swiss watchmaker, has taken one of the 1,000-pound pig's works of art and turned it into their new watch face design. The Swatch sold the piece as a limited edition watch with the designs gracing the band and the face.
Pigcasso also designed the label for her very own wine. The grapes come from the vineyards on the sanctuary in the Western Cape area of South Africa. The collection features a Pigcasso PINK, GOLD, WHITE, and BLACK. The sanctuary holds wine tastings and sells the wine onsite.
Visitors are more than welcome to tour the sanctuary during the week. However, there is no guarantee you will get to see Ms. Pigcasso in action. She and Lefson do not currently do live paintings. You may have to settle for watching trending videos of the painting pig online.
When this little piggies pieces go to the market, all proceeds go back to the sanctuary.
Would you buy one of Pigcasso's the pig's paintings? Tell us over on our Wide Open Pets Facebook Page.
