The little animals artist

Koopa is the world’s first internationally collected, professional turtle artist. His paintings are the finest quality nonhuman-created art available anywhere. Koopa is under no stress when he paints. The slippery texture is just like mud to him and it is equally safe. Every gorgeous detail is created through Koopa’s natural walking motion. He is not coerced, assisted, or guided in any way during the painting process. A Certificate of Authenticity and a CD rom (containing at least 30 photos of this painting’s creation) will be included with the artwork. Koopa’s goal is to have at least one of his paintings hang in all 50 states, and at least one on every continent, except Antarctica. No small feat for a box turtle! Koopa knows that life isn’t so good for all turtles, so 20% of the purchase price from all of Koopa’s paintings will be donated to a non-profit organization that cares for sick/injured/abandoned turtles and tortoises. Koopa’s art has raised over $10,000.00 for turtle rescue organizations.

Piggy Painters: Van Snout and his pal Bottabelli. A farm in Buckfastleigh, Devon, England has stumbled upon a novel idea to raise funds for their Farm Crisis Network charity. The farm has enlisted the help of two piglets, known as “Van Snout” and “Bottabelli” who one day accidentally got into a few cans of non-toxic paint, and the next day had become artists. Their work is comparable to a Jackson Pollock painting for its messy and loose design, and wild mix of colors. Farm owner Chris Murray said “The pigs tended to go more for pointilism – they weren’t too keen on cubism. We think of them as our little Pigassos.” The paintings sell for up to £16 each and have raised more than £150 so far, which is sure to grow once the news spreads. The quality of the paintings is actually quite good, so good that you may be surprised to see who the true artists are behind the works.

He is the artist who paints without putting brush to canvas. Instead, Steven Kutcher uses moths, beetles, spiders, flies, honey bees, butterflies, grasshoppers – and even Hissing Cockroaches from Madagascar. He dips the insects in paint, places them on a blank canvas and lets their movement create a string of colourful paintings. Mr Kutcher, 63, uses insects as living paintbrushes, guiding them by using their reaction to light or simply letting them wriggle at will. He said: “I’ll take a bug in my hand and, leg by leg, load the paint on to each leg. Then I put them on to the canvas and off they go, leaving a tiny trail of coloured footprints in their wake. “I can switch colours and even insects to create the effect I am looking for. “If a bug is sensitive to light, I can influence its movement on the canvas by controlling the lighting. “Insects have different footprints and behaviours so I use both my entomological and artistic knowledge to create fine works of art.” The artist, who lives in Los Angeles, is a keen environmentalist and says he ensures his paint-soaked insects are unharmed. He said: “I use water-based, nontoxic gouache paints which easily wash off. I have to take good care of them. After all, they are artists.”