Thai rice farmer makes art by drawing cats on rice fields

Thai farmer Tanyapong Jaikham and a team of workers planted seedlings at different spots throughout rice fields in the northern province of Chiang Rai to resemble cartoon cats in an attempt to draw tourists and cat lovers.

“We’re expecting tens of thousands to come and see the art in the rice fields,” Jaikham said. The GPS coordinates help in placing the seedlings in the exact locations shown in an original artist’s sketch, with the plants changing colour as they develop, he added.

“It’s crucial to position them accurately, and the rice will gradually change shades over time,” he said, “until in the final harvest stage, the rice straw yields the portrait of Cooper, the cat on which it was modelled.”

The tourists can view the artwork from the towers that are being built in the surrounding areas.