"...with a background in the entertainment industry, there was never any doubt that Ramona would succeed as an artist."

Young, upcoming elephant artist Ramona was born in Way Kambas National Park in South Sumatra on February 27, 1995.  Her mother Karsih was an entertainer there, giving elephant rides and performing simple circus tricks for tourists. Her father was a wild bull elephant, whose name and whereabouts are unknown.  In 1996, Karsih was transferred to Jambi in South Sumatra, where she lives today, unaware of her only daughter's forays into the art world.  Ramona now lives with 17 other elephants at our Elephant Safari Park, a beautiful refuge on the island of Bali.  Ramona's mahout (lifelong trainer and caretaker) is named Jumadi.  Jumadi was also born in South Sumatra.

Ramona began her painting career in 1999 under the guidance of renowned New York-based artists Vitaly Komar & Alexander Melamid.  Within two days, Ramona was deep in concentration, confidently applying paint to canvas.  Ramona paints effusively yet thoughtfully, pausing to look carefully at her canvas before choosing each color (she tends to prefer darker colors).  Ramona has a true artistic temperament, however.  When she lacks inspiration, not even Jumadi can coax her to the canvas.

Ramona weighs in at a trim 1760 pounds (800kg). See the Elephant Art Gallery!

For centuries, elephants earned their keep by hauling trees for Asia's logging industry.  Deforestation and logging restrictions led to massive unemployment for the elephants, with the result that many, dependent on keepers who could no longer afford to care for them, simply died of neglect.  With fewer and fewer elephants surviving in South and South-East Asia, Asian elephants are now on the endangered species list.

To reverse this trend, dedicated men and women throughout South and South-East Asia have created various sanctuaries for elephants, striving to preserve this majestic species.  Now, aided by members of the international art community and conservationists, these sanctuaries have trained a handful of elephants in the delicate art of painting - as one way to help the animals help themselves, raising funds as well as awareness.

The elephants' paintings, compared by some critics to the works of such great abstract expressionist artists as Jackson Pollock, Williem de Kooning and Franz Kline, have been exhibited internationally and have fetched thousands of dollars apiece at Christie's auction house.

Interestingly, elephants commonly pass time by doodling on the ground with sticks and pebbles.  "Teaching them to draw rewards that behavior, using different tools," suggests New York art historian Mia Fineman.  Fineman believes that the idea that only humans can create art is an "artificial construct" of the art world.  "Elephants are motivated by something beyond functionality," Ms Fineman said, "and this is called art."

By making the Asian elephants' paintings widely accessible to the general public, NOVICA hopes to help increase awareness, encourage conservation, and raise significant funds to assist endangered elephants throughout Asia.

Grab this opportunity to own a unique work of art and help support one of Asia’s most endangered and forgotten species.Log onto www.novica.com or click on the link below to view the range of Elephant artisan works and help save a Sumatran elephant.