Portrait of Axle

 First there is the portrait of the mystery Aussie, a dog in the car ahead of me in the take out line of a Dunkin Donut store. I couldn't resist her. Well, I think the Aussie is a she. She caught me looking at her and ducked into the car and peeked out at me again and I took the shot.  This piece is done with Pan Pastels on black paper and as I declared in my last post, no pastel pencils save a white and a black pencil.  This is much more in keeping with the more relaxed, more organic style I have been evolving. I'm not concerned with photorealism, or tricking folks into thinking this is a photo. I'm interested in the light and the color and the emotion of the moment. Sadly, I forgot to hit record when I began working on this portrait. That's not so unusual. I just want to paint or draw or whatever I'm doing here. 

Now, I really wanted to do a portrait of Axle, a pitt mix who was a good friend to me when I moved to Georgia. He lived across the road from me and came to walk with me every morning before I went to work and who joined me every evening when I came home. Sadly, he died an early death when he was struck by a car he was chasing. This is one of many photos I took of Axle.  

Here he is. I did remember to press record this time. It's the first time I used my phone to record the video and if you click on the image or the word video, you can see it. The video is just under an hour.  

Axle belonged to neighbors who lived across the dirt road from me when I was living in south Georgia. He was friendly and playful and mischievous. He stole things like the door mat in my garage and my friend's swim trunks. Finally I have him his own toy and he brought it to my house. I rented a house on four acres with few neighbors and for exercise I walked them twice a day. Axle walked them with me.  He and a brother were found in a trash container and adopted by my neighbor. His brother ran away and the owners never knew what became of him. They tried to keep Axle contained but he just cried and howled so they let him roam. He never went far. He was only about two years old when he passed away and, although it's been a decade, he is sorely missed.  

I know that Pitt Bulls and Pitt mixes are feared and legislated again and with some reason. But while he looked more Pitt than the lab he was mixed with, he was more lab. He had a soft mouth. When he took my hand in his mouth he held it as softly as you would hold a child. He was a playful dog and a loving dog and he enjoyed the Milk Bones I kept on hand for him. As rough as his beginning was, Axle was pure joy.