Artistic Pig Brings Home the Bacon

Many people know of Pablo Picasso, the ___________ artist who created some of
the 20th century’s most famous paintings. But few, until recently, have heard of “Pigcasso.”
Pigcasso is the name given to an ___________ pig that was rescued from a slaughter-
house in 2016. The pig ___________ lives – and creates art – at an animal sanctua-
ry in South Africa's Western Cape region.
Joanne Lefson runs the sanctuary. She says pigs are very ___________ animals
that like to keep their minds active. "When I brought Pigcasso here to the barn, I thought
'how do I keep her entertained?'" she said.
Lefson gave Pigcasso some balls, paintbrushes and other objects to play with.
"She basically _______ or ___________ everything except these paintbrushes… she
loved them so much," Lefson said.
Soon the pig was using those paintbrushes to create art.
Her paintings can sell for ___________ $4,000. The money from her sales go to
animal welfare.
Pigcasso has even had one of her ___________ turned into a watch face by
Swatch, a Swiss watchmaking company. The limited edition "Flying Pig by Ms. Pigcasso"
has ___________, ___________ and ___________ colors and sells for $120.
"FLYING PIG BY MS. PIGCASSO has us squealing with joy!" notes a statement
on the company's Twitter page.
Lefson says Pigcasso is "definitely an abstract expressionist." The
term ___________ to the artistic movement that sought to communicate emotions
using abstract images.
"You can't exactly define what she's painting," Lefson added, "but I can tell you
that her style slightly changes depending on her ___________ like any great artist."
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Words in This Story

slaughterhouse – n. a building where animals are killed for their meat

sanctuary – n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter
paintbrush – n. a brush used for putting paint on a surface
barn - n. a large building on a farm in which animals or hay (= dried grass) and grain are
kept
welfare - n. help given, esp. money, by a government to people who are poor and who do
not have jobs.
squeal - v. to make a long, very high sound or cry.
sought - v. Simple Past or Past Participle of seek. => to try or attempt.