# Animals Painting Unaided Thai Elephants Paint on Canvas By Bianca | Published 2008-01-13 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/painting-elephants References: [elephantartgallery](http://www.elephantartgallery.com/meet/school/) It’s really incredible what elephants are capable of doing with their trunks, but did you know that by sending them to art school, they can actually learn how to paint [portraits of each other](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portrait-mom)? Thai elephants have been trained to create unaided paintings of other elephants, on canvas. It only takes one day of assessment to know if an elephant has any potential artistic capabilities; if they do, they continue to be educated for about [one week](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/a-week-in-thailand) before they are considered ready for public demonstrations. In the video, there is an elephant that, after five years of training, is so incredibly talented that an English artist traveled to Thailand to try to work with the elephant to create a gallery. Considering how long elephants live, imagine what they could learn in 50 years of training! They could put human artists out of business. So if you want to invest in art, maybe [elephant art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/daizo) is where it will be at for future appreciation. Check out the video! ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 5.0/10 - Popularity: 54% | Activity: 88% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Modern](https://www.trendhunter.com/modern) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Animal Artists:** Training animals, such as elephants, to paint could lead to new forms of art and disrupt the traditional art world. - **Unassisted Creativity:** Teaching animals to create art without human assistance could lead to new ways of thinking about creativity and innovation. - **Animal Intelligence:** Exploring the artistic abilities of animals could lead to a greater understanding of their cognitive capabilities and inspire new forms of research and development. ### Where This Applies - **Fine Arts:** The field of fine arts could be disrupted by the emergence of animal artists and new forms of creative expression. - **Pet Training:** The training of pets could expand to include artistic skills and create a new industry for animal trainers specialized in art. - **Animal Conservation:** The recognition of animal intelligence in artistic expression could increase funding and attention for animal conservation efforts. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Outdoor Wildlife Exhibitions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-great-elephant-migration.md) - [Elephant-Inspired Charitable Fashion Lines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/elephant-family-usa.md) - [AI-Powered Painting Machines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/loklik-ipaint.md) - [Custom-Designed Painting Kits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/customdesigned-painting-kit.md) - [Elephant Teething Gloves](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/moyuum.md) - [AI Pet Portraits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drawmypet.md) - [AI Art Tutors](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/simply-draw.md) - [AI Pet Portraits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/petpic-ai.md) - [Transformative AI Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drawings-alive.md)