'Picasso' pachyderms prepare paintings for arts week

DENVER - The Denver Zoo is celebrating Denver Arts Week with painting an animal art auction filled with paintings made by zoo animals.

Guided by wildlife trainers, elephants, rhinos, snakes and macaws are painting on canvases to celebrate Denver Arts Week. Visitors can watch them paint everyday through Nov. 14. It is free with regular admission.

Those canvases will be up for auction on the Denver Zoo's website starting Friday and going through Dec. 12.

Many pieces have a starting bid of $70 to $80 and all of the proceeds go to care for the animals at the zoo.

Even opossums are having a brush with art.

"It's actually kind of like finger painting. We have paint spread out on newspaper we put his paws on it and he pretty much walks on it," Wildlife Trainer Lisa Edmonson said.

Another trainer said all it took was food to get a macaw to paint her masterpiece.

"She was scared of the paint at first. It's bright colors, she's never seen it before and it's kind of an odd feel on her feet so we just put her down and tried to get her to walk through it. She's very food motivated so we show her favorite food to her like sunflower seeds and nuts and she is more than willing to come to us," Rachel Clark said.

In addition to animal paintings, the zoo is holding an Art for Animals show and sale Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The event is free but you must reserve tickets online.

Zoo officials say they have also been working non-sop for three months to decorate 30 acres of the park in lights for the Zoo Lights exhibit. They say it is a must see if you have never experienced it.

"It is truly a winter wonderland but it definitely has the hint of the wild side as well with all the animals. It's animated light sculptures throughout the zoo, a beautiful canopy of lights over head as well as most of the trees being lit up. It has really become a family tradition for many families here in Denver," Zoo Spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart said.

Zoo Lights opens to the public on Dec. 11 and goes through Jan. 3. The exhibit goes from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every night.

For more information on ticket prices and events, head to http://www.denverzoo.org/default.asp