Cholla, the painting horse, is no one-trick pony. He is after all, a horse, but his paintings sell for quite a bit of money and he is slated to have his own exhibition in the spring. Read on, and Jackson Pollack, move over!
According to
news sources, Cholla (pronounced Choyah after a desert cactus) uses his mouth to hold a brush and paints on an easel-mounted canvas in his paddock. Scoff if you will, but some of his abstract paintings sell for more than £2,000 ($4,000 US dollars) and his work will be exhibited at the Galleria d'arte Giudecca in Venice next spring!
Cholla’s owner, Renee Chambers, 51, of Reno, Nevada, said she first noticed the horse’s hidden talent four years ago when she painted the fence of his paddock. She said:
“He seemed really interested in what I was doing, and then one day my husband, Robert, suggested that I give Cholla a brush. He hasn't looked back since then. I give him the canvas and the paint and he just makes these wonderful pictures.”
Cholla is extraordinary, but he needs his owner’s help. She squeezes the paint out of the tube for him, puts the paint on the brush, hands it to him, and …lets him do his thing.
Rosalba Giorcelli, from Galleria d'arte Giudecca in Venice, which is to display his work next spring, said she did not initially realize she was dealing with an artist who was a horse. She said:
“We exhibited it at a recent art fair, and the reactions by the public and the artists were enthusiastic. They all understood we did not want to diminish any human artist's artwork, but we wish to contribute to a debate about contemporary art.”
Well, is Cholla the reincarnation of some famous artist long gone to the other side of the sod?
Who knows, but I would get his autograph now, just to be on the safe side.
For a view of our guy doing his thing, go to the link provided.
