We’ve all seen cute raccoons, scurrying around in the woods and getting into mischief. Sometimes they are in the middle of the road when we are trying to drive while other times they get into the garbage and make a huge mess in the middle of the night. In fact, you may just focus on all of the craziness raccoons can get into when you think about these cute little animals.
What you probably won’t think of is the word “artist.” However, you would be shocked to learn that these adorable little creatures aren’t that bad when it comes to using paints to create some unique masterpieces. While you won’t find a raccoon in the wild with their own paint set, you will find a number of rescue raccoons on the internet who have learned to create art. Some of them have been captivating their audiences with their amazing finger painting skills. Not only that, but most of these soft little creatures seem genuinely proud of the work they are doing.
How did raccoon art even start? It was likely just a few years ago when a family adopted Tito the raccoon. Within days, his new family began posting his funny little antics to social media. It was amazing for many people to learn that not all raccoons are mean or rabid. Soon, people all over social media were falling in love with Tito and the adorable posts his family kept putting up. It wasn’t too long before he began to try his hand-or shall we say paw-at finger painting. Tito took to the task like a champ, creating cute pieces that he was extremely proud of.
Since then there have been other raccoons that have followed suit. Two of them. Cheeto and Piper, are two other adopted raccoons who love to work with paint and paper. Their paintings can even be purchased by interested art lovers!
Suzanne MacDonald is an animal behaviorist who spoke on the subject of the artistic raccoons. She stated that it isn’t as crazy of a concept as you would think for raccoons to be able to create artwork. But how? MacDonald says that by giving raccoons plenty of positive reinforcement and staying patient with them, most can be trained to produce art with paint and paintbrushes. However, raccoons seem to act a lot more excited when they are done with their artwork than other animals. Maybe that is why we don’t often see other pieces of animal artwork online!
Let’s circle back to cute little Tito. Tito was never intended to be a pet by his current owners. They tried to get him into different rehabilitation centers at the beginning of his life. However, they didn’t have any luck, so they decided to let him join the family. This turned out to be one of the best decisions they ever made, as Tito is now thriving at his new human home. Tito is definitely living the good life in his human home. He is always given paints and canvases to show off how amazingly skilled he is at finger painting.
Tito, Piper, and Cheeto are all successful little artists that even sell their paintings online. For example, Cheeto has a piece called “Tiny Masterpiece” that goes for $75 while Piper is looking for $150 for a painting called “Custom Masterpiece.” If you want one of these adorable paintings, make sure you hop on it right away. They sell out quickly!
Remember, raccoons aren’t as scary and dirty as a lot of people seem to think. Sure, they love digging around in the trash looking for leftovers. Most raccoons will run when they are around humans. But when it comes to Tito and the rest of the art-making rascals, we hope you can see these amazing creatures in a whole new light. If you are looking for a new conversation piece for your home, a canvas done by a raccoon will certainly be one to do it!
