Three weeks ago on a sunny August afternoon in Dana Point, my husband and I strolled along Doheny State Beach when we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by elephants!
Artistically hand-painted Asian elephant sculptures, that is.
You might be wondering, why is there a herd of Asian elephant sculptures filling the beach?
You see, the Asian elephant is endangered and faces extinction in a few decades if action isn’t taken. Over the last 100 years, the Asian elephant habitat has shrunk by 95% and its population has decreased by over 90%. Due mainly to habitat destruction and increasing human population growth, the elephants’ homes have been turned into farms, plantations, towns, dams and highways. Poaching for ivory also remains a growing problem.
To help raise money for the charity The Asian Elephant Foundation, celebrities and famous artists lovingly painted their Asian elephant statues with their hearts, souls and personalities! The entire herd filled Doheny State Beach in celebration of the event. On November 17, select elephants will be up for auction to raise funds for the charity.
So pull up a chair and enjoy the 35 beautifully hand-painted elephants. I love them all, but one captured my heart…and I saved it for last.
So without further ado, let us begin…The Elephant Parade.
Ok so now here’s the fun part – which elephant was your favorite…and why?
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What a quirky exhibit to come across! I’m in Iowa right now, so the corn elephant definitely spoke to me. I really want to see this elephant walking around on a prosthetic leg!
I loved the “Corn” elephant too – he was so cute! 🙂
I am in Iowa right now so the corn elephant grabbed me. I need to see a picture of this elephant on a prosthetic leg! What a fun exhibit to come upon.
Betty Boop and American Traveler are my favorites . . I think! They are all so beautiful that it was really hard to pick a favorite. Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Love Betty Boop! Such an interesting idea, thanks for sharing!
I agree, Betty Boop was a very clever design! It’s amazing how well-balanced she was on top of the elephant…lol!
How cool! Unfortunately we don’t travel much right now…but I hope to in the future and stuff like this is totally why!
Traveling opens up many unexpected doors…even ones with elephants! 🙂
Sea the point is my fav!
I liked Sea too! 🙂
How fun is this?? I loved Bright Beauty because she is simple, but oh so fun!
🙂 She is fun, isn’t she?
I love that you ran into a bunch of elephants on Dana Point. Which I had the pleasure of visiting a few time. My fav place to spend time in the sun
I don’t visit Dana Point very often, but it’s always a treat when I do! 🙂
Oh man, it’s hard to pick! I kept scrolling down and thinking, “This one is my favorite….no wait, this one….no, definitely this one!” I *think* the Stars and Stripes is my favorite (my brother is a Marine so all things patriotic speak to me), followed closely by the Corn one. 🙂
Haha…I know the feeling! As I walked around thinking I found my favorite, I would change my mind. I love the patriotic elephants too! My second favorite was “Triumph of Liberty”.
Hi Jen
Greta blog post and some fab photos. Elephants are my wifes favourite animals and I remeber years ahgo while travelling in Thailand we came across a guy who had a working elephant to move logs we got some great photos. So happy peaceful looking creature – hopefully they will be around for a long time and not become extinct.
What a great experience you had! Yes, they really are peaceful creatures, and I hope they stay around for a long time too!
How fabulous!
Wow, these are amazing! What talented artists! I loved them all, but I especially liked the creativity behind Sea the Point. Thanks for sharing.
I agree – those artists were so talented! I would have such a hard time figuring out how to paint mine! 🙂
This was definitely neat to see! It was a tough choice but it is “The Gentle Guardian” for me 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing this 🙂
The Gentle Guardian is a very sweet elephant. I wouldn’t mind having him watch over me. 🙂
Beautiful elephants! My favourite is definitely Beady – love the colours and the shy expression on it’s face.
Such amazing creations! I loved so many of them. I really hope the fundraiser can be a success and make an impact on the Asian elephant population. It really is sad to see a species dying off because of our practices.
I love the Punkaphant one! I like a lot of them. What an interesting exhibit for a great cause!
My favorite is Utain Wongjai. These elephants are the cutest ever! Oh my word!!!!!! Thanks for sharing:)
My favorite one is Triumph of Liberty -so cute yet very posh and patriotic ^___^
Oh my how amazing. The art is beautiful and a beautiful cause as well. Thank you for sharing this since I’d never have seen or learned about it on my own!
Beautiful art and a beautiful cause! Thank you for sharing — that must be a fun and enlightening experience!
There are so many beautiful elephants, but I think my favorite is “There’s Still Hope” Thank you so much for sharing this – I really enjoyed looking at all of them!
Love this post! In Saratoga they have painted horses similar to this, but not quite as many! I like the bubble elephant, Beady, the best!
I like the peace elephant, they are so beautiful it was hard to choose one! Thanx for sharing!
My favorite is the Black Taj elephant…I love all things India! The colors, the reliefs, the patterns…just gorgeous.
What a beautiful representation of these gorgeous animals, I’m sure they were more impressive in person. I love how you displayed their information from the artist. Thank you for sharing.
How fun! I love Jack since my husband is such an airplane freak! It spoke to me. As a Nebraskan, the Corn elephant made me smile. I also love One Hundred Flowers. That is something I can see in my home. . .or yard. . .or somewhere it would fit!
Oh my, I love all the elephants; they are so beautiful! I like live elephants as well.
Great, I love all of those elephant. I cannot say which one is better than the others. Thank you for sharing such wonderful pictures.
Oh. My. Gosh. I love elephants! They are such beautiful, majestic creatures! But what has my jaw on the floor (aside from these beautifully decorated elephants) – I am the biggest Betty Boop fan in the world! I totally want that Betty Boop elephant in the first picture! I have to have that! That is so awesome! I would say I will keep my eyes out on the auction, but I can only imagine the money that this auction will raise – and for such a great cause!
Not only do I love elephants, but I am the world’s biggest Betty Boop fan – I totally want that top elephant! And I love that they auction these off to raise money for the Asian elephants – they are such beautiful majestic creatures!
I think I like Betty Boop the best but they are all so different and interesting.
These are cute elephants!!!! 🙂
What a fantastic idea. I think the black taj is my favourite xx
Wow, this must have been really cool to see. They are all so beautiful, but I do like the mediation elephant….he looks so peaceful 🙂
WOW!!! Those are just SOOOO COOL!!! I loved them all… just amazing how beautiful and artistic each elephant it… 🙂
Interesting! In VA Beach they do something similar to this with painted horses (pegasus?) all around the town.
So much fun to see all the creative touches here. Two favorites for me were 1. Betty Boop because it reminds me of my mom and dad’s 50th anniversary (long story) and the Surfer because it reminds me of my husband who loved surfing in the 60’s. Loved this post.
Awwwww, I like Beady and Gentle Guardian, they’re my favorite! Thanks for sharing this is a worthy cause!
So cool! Totally wish I could see them all in person! I loved Punkaphant!
Velentina the Ellenaut. I liked the design. That was it.
Those are beautiful! We have something similar in Vancouver with hand painted orca and bear statues placed around the city.
I love the creativity and the purpose of this project. That is so amazing to just be walking and randomly see that. One of the cities close to me has taken to letting artists paint benches and other things around the city and it really brings color to places that seemed dark.
haha! I just adore elephants… love that California surfer one. What a fun exhibit! ! Renee
Oh gosh! Pick a favorite? I think I like Ramafly. I love the colors and the art work. It’s a great reminder to care for even God’s smallest creatures. What a great way to bring awareness to such an important cause!
I live nearby, i wish I had know about it. They all are wonderful, what a sight to see.
oh my gosh, I love these. Are they coming to Moab soon?? I don’t know if I could pick a favorite. I love art and they are all so beautiful in their own way. Love this!!
What a fun exhibit for a great cause! The sweet elephant with the prosthetic breaks my heart and reminds me of my brother who lost his leg to an IED in Afghanistan. Thanks for sharing.
So many cute elephants and such a great cause! Looks like an amazing photo opp that you took full advantage of 🙂 I love the descriptions on each photo, it’s so nice to get the details (my Google Chrome browser displays them a bit smaller but it zooms in nicely when I click on them).
~adAstra
Great Captures and How Do I Just Pick 1 Favorite!!! I loved Beady and those eyes reminded me of Dumbo:)
Yes, Beady totally reminds me of Dumbo too! He’s too cute! 🙂