From what I'm able to discern, yes, to create non-abstract paintings, elephants need guidance and specific 'handling' that is unethical. However, I am a little confused, as the page of the sanctuary's online store that talks about how elephant paintings are made says that they are made using ethical methods, without guidance from their mahout, and of their own volition.

And yet, Aleena is definitely listed as an artist on their website, and the painting does have their seal and the flowers are consistent with other paintings I have found by her online. However, the paintings currently for sale by her and all the other elephants in the sactuary are abstract.

I think the best answer for this is that they initially trained Aleena to paint with guidance, stopped using those methods due to ethical concerns/animal welfare laws, and are trying to smooth things over.

They use the same techniques to get elephants to comply with other forms of 'training', namely operant conditioning where the elephant is subjected to painful jabs by the mahout if they don't comply and rewards if they do. When elephants paint of their own accord, this type of training is allegedly unnecessary. That said, the whole practice is pretty opaque.

I think they are poppies too, but it could be any red flower with a long stem really :)