Picasso once said that it took him four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child. Well, it only took Pic-ass-o, the painting donkey, three weeks to paint like an abstract professional. The talented four-legged rescue animal, whose story first appeared in The Daily Mail, has wowed the equine art world by creating a series of paintings that have sold for more than than £100 ($150) each.
Patty the rescue donkey, or Pic-ass-o as she's come to be known, had garnered a reputation for being a little mouthy around her Bristol rescue center, HorseWorld, picking up just about any random object with her teeth. So when she showed an interest in her handler Vicky Greenslade's painting pastime, everyone knew what to do. With paintbrush in mouth and her very own easel before her, an artist was born.
It took only three weeks for Patty's art skills to mature to what they are today. To sharpen the donkey's budding talents, Greensladee utilized clicker training, a technique first used to help Patty relax when she arrived at the rescue center. Greenslade places a paint covered brush in Patty's mouth and the donkey is then prompted to make a brushstroke on an available canvas.
Patty was rescued when she arrived at a UK auction from Romania, reports Metro UK. Now happily making art, Patty's masterpieces, including a series of Patty-painted horse figurines, are on sale in a Bristol gallery located in Cabot Circus. All of the proceeds from the sale of her portraits go directly to HorseWorld's efforts of rehabilitating and rehoming mistreated horses, ponies and donkeys.
Patty also regularly demonstrates her talents at the HorseWorld Visitor Center in Bristol. "We can't ask her to do too many demonstrations in a week though," said Greensdale to The Daily Mail, "or she gets bored, throws the paintbrush down and walks off." Oh, the life of a successful artist.