It’s official, animals are talented painters, if the painting elephants weren’t proof enough, now Cholla, a painting horse shows his skill.

A  mustang-quarter horse with incredible painting talent, Cholla‘s works have recently been accepted into an art exhibition that will take place in Montigliano Veneto, Italy. He will be competing against 1,770 renowned artists from all over the world, and we’re talking humans, so yes, this horse has enough talent to match up to human artists. He won’t be able to claim the cash prizes if he wins but he will get a special mention.

Cholla‘s career began when his owner, Renee Chambers, bought some water colors, mixed them up, glued a piece of paper to a fence, and handed him the brush. Cholla grabbed it, started stroking and he never stopped, in fact he got better and better and now he’s a star in the USA. In case you were wondering, Cholla made the transition from the fence to the easel without hesitation, like a true artist.

The organizers of the Italian art exhibition said they were stunned when they found out the artist of the artworks they accepted was of the equine species but respected his talent even more.

Photos courtesy of Renee Chambers