大象界的畢加索：畫自畫像惟妙惟肖

He has a delicate brushstroke and an eye for colour that would give Picasso a run for his money.
他畫畫筆鋒精緻，對色彩亦有良好的鑑賞能力，跟繪畫大師畢加索不相上下。

So it's all the more impressive that this impressionist painter is in fact... an elephant.
而更加讓人驚歎的是，這位印象派畫家其實……是頭大象。

Noppakhao, also known as Peter, has churned out dozens of works of art over the years, with some fetching as much as $700.
大象Noppakhao也被叫做Peter，幾年來他已經出品了多幅藝術畫作，其中有些甚至賣到了700美元的高價。

Noppakhao - which stands for the 'nine colours of the gemstones' - began painting eight years ago as part of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) in Ayutthaya province, nearly 50 miles north of Bangkok.
Noppakhao在泰語中意爲“寶石的九種顏色”。作爲“亞洲大象藝術和保護項目”(AEACP)組織工作的一部分，Noppakhao於8年前開始練習畫畫。該組織設立在曼谷北方約50英里的大城。

According to the organisation's website, the 11-year-old bull 'exhibits a wonderful sense of dexterity and control with the paintbrush' to draw landscapes and floral designs.
據AEACP官方網站介紹，11歲的Noppakhao展現出了非凡的靈巧性，能夠很好地控制畫筆畫出風景圖照和花型圖案。

Funds from the sale of his work go towards conservation projects and training caretakers.
Noppakhao畫作所賣得的資金都被用於大象保護項目以及管理員的培訓工作。

The AEACP says: 'We strive to give as many elephants as we can, a happy, healthy, enriched existence.'
AEACP組織表示：“我們力求讓儘可能多的大象過上快樂、健康、充實的生活。”

'Money raised by the AEACP is used to provide captive elephants with better food, improved shelter and proper veterinary care.'
“AEACP組織所籌得的款項被用於爲那些被關押的大象提供更好的飲食、改良的居所和應有的醫療保護。”

In the past, elephant painting has led to accusations that the animals are harshly treated in efforts to train them.
過去，大象畫作也會引來別人的指責，他們認爲大象在訓練過程中受到了虐待。

But the AEACP says it 'does not tolerate any abuse of the elephants either while painting or in everyday interaction.'
但是AEACP組織聲明，該組織“絕不允許任何虐待大象的行爲，無論是在畫畫這件事上還是其他的日常互動過程中。”