At this point, I reconsidered my seating placement, deciding to be freelance, and stand up, in case there was a need to escape quickly. Other viewers did not seem nearly as disturbed by this beastly outburst, and they, along with their children, easily took front row seats. As for me, I began to get a bit clammy.

These animals are massive. They are children, of course, only five and six years old, but tiny they are not. Their immensity was fascinating. I love animals, and always had a few dogs and cats, turtles, even a monkey while I was growing up. However, my animal care taking history had nothing to compare with this experience, and I surprised myself with my timidity.

Duanpen's escape path through concrete benches and table

Soon paint was poured into pools on plastic plates, and brushes were readied. The easel was set up, with art paper attached, and a cardboard frame placed over it to keep the paint inside the lines.

Enter the star, Kong Kum, a six year old male elephant, with his mahout at his side. The art instructor who was on the left, loaded up the brush, and Kong Kum eagerly reached for it with his trunk. Over and over Kong Kum took the brush, and the instructor made differing motions on the blank piece of paper so Kong Kum knew where and what to paint. He followed directions impeccably.

Kong Kum in intense concentration

Placement after placement, color after color, with determined concentration, this little boy elephant was eager to please his teacher. Mesmerized, we watched.  Before we all knew it, a painting was completed, and proudly, he bowed and curled his trunk for us.

Going back a second time, both to take more photos and to see these fascinating gentle giants once again, I was no less afraid, and could not bring myself to sit on the elephant’s knee when it was offered.  However, I was able to feed them sugar cane, and this I considered personal progress.

Elephant artwork and supplies

These animals are awesome in their physical presence as well as in potential.  For their size, they are light and gentle on their feet, and can perform exacting tasks.  This attempt to train them to paint is a fairly new enterprise, with great hopes that it will attract income to pay for their pricey maintenance. 

The number of elephants still in Thailand today is debated, but most of them live in camps. To learn how to paint, these elephants must go to painting school! For more information on elephant artists, click here

For more stories and photos on Thailand, click here

About the Authors

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com, they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since 1991. They wrote the popular books, The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website bookstore or on Amazon.com.

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