“Axel”
Oil on canvas ~ 14″ x 18″

After a 15-year hiatus to raise my adopted son who has high-needs…when I started painting again 3 years ago, I decided that I wanted to do a painting of a red husky. When I was younger, I had a husky who looked very similar to this guy, but he was a bit lighter in color and the markings on his head were a little different. Unfortunately though, I do not have a reference photo that shows how beautiful my dog was that is nearly detailed enough to create a good painting from…so I was very happy to find this one of Axel. I really enjoyed painting this, I searched for a long time to find an image to work from that reminded me this much of my sweet pup and very dear friend and family member, Chukchi.

This painting was a challenge for me because I wanted to have some very detailed areas, such as in Axel’s face; as well as some impressionist areas like the fur on his chest, neck, and shoulder. The colors I decided to go with, were a bit stronger than in the photo I used as a reference. I was able to pull out some turquoise and a more purple-toned blue which were more subtle…plus the background in the photo was originally trees and has green tones, but I wanted to use similar hues as in the reds of Axel’s fur.

Thank you to Lorna Dandy for the use of her beautiful reference photo I found on pmp-art’s website.

Unfortunately, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, along with several other breeds, such as the American Pit Bull Terrier are being unfairly categorized as dangerous and vicious dogs… BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) has been introduced in some cities and states in this country, such as Denver, CO; where owning and keeping one as a pet is illegal. This is the case in approximately 12 other countries besides the USA. In many cases, family pets like Hara, with absolutely no history of aggression, are being removed from their homes; and taken to shelters. Often, since there are not enough adoptive or foster homes, they are even being euthanized.

There are many recent studies that show that these dogs make extremely loyal pets and companions, and when given temperament testing Pit Bulls score higher than many so-called ‘safer’ breeds. According to the American Temperament Test Society, 804 American Pit Bull Terriers were recently tested and 695 passed. Which means that 86.4% of Pit Bulls tested by the ATTS had a good temperament. The Pit Bull pass rating was above 121 other breeds of dogs, including Golden Retrievers. The only exception was the Labrador Retriever, who scored 92.4%.

I feel that these dogs are absolutely being unfairly targeted and malaligned by those, who out of ignorance that stems from being misinformed…especially by the media who has focused their attention on stories which are exaggerated and out of proportion. Stories about individuals who have raised their dogs to participate in the cruel sport of dog fighting, that many times results in the serious injury of the dogs, at times fatally… instead of reporting what are the much more prevalent stories about how loving, loyal, and heroic family members these dogs really are. I myself am a proud owner of “Bryn”…an American Pit Bull Terrier, our newest furry family member. On a sad note, unfortunately; we just lost our 11 yr. old Pit Bull/Lab mix; “Missy”, to cancer.

FOR SALE ~ $225

Oil on canvas ~ 16″ x 20″ © ArtistKarin Press Cohen – 2016

If you would like to purchase this painting, please contact me using the form below.