One rescue dog is giving something back and raising money for charity – with his paintings.
Pit Bull mix van Gogh has one ear, just like his namesake, and again like the famous artist, he’s pretty good at painting, too. The eight-year-old, with some help from his owners, paints canvases using his paws and tongue, and so far he’s raised thousands of dollars for charity, reports The Smithsonian.
From Rescue Dog to Art Sensation
Among his pieces currently up for sale are works based on the 19th-century artist’s iconic Sunflowers and Almond Blossoms. And all proceeds go to Happily Furever After Rescue in Bethel, Connecticut. The rescue helped van Gogh find a home himself, too. Before his arrival, he was part of a dog-fighting ring, which left the pup with some serious injuries.
First, a human puts blobs of paint onto a canvas. But they do so in such a way that they resemble one of van Gogh’s famous works. They then put the canvas into a bag and cover the bag with something tasty, often peanut butter. Then, the creative canine licks the outside of the bag to smear the paint across.
“Having van Gogh create some of history’s most famous paintings felt like big shoes to fill,” said Jaclyn Gartner, the rescue’s founder, to Artnet. “There was a lot more attention to detail this time around to make sure to incorporate all the colors and try to recreate the pieces as closely as possible.”
150 Paintings… and Counting
And already, van Gogh has made over 150 paintings. Gartner has been selling them since last year, but this month’s auction began on Mar. 3. It runs until Mar. 30, which was the painter’s birthday – 180 years ago.
“Despite everything this bait dog survivor has been through, van Gogh views the world as a masterpiece and has decided to share his talent with the world,” the rescue wrote on the auction website.
As van Gogh’s forever owner, foster volunteer Jessica Starowitz, told Today in December, “We’ll let him keep painting until he says he’s done with it – probably if we run out of peanut butter or liverwurst or snacks”.
