Two Tennis Ball Aficionados

Sailor

5" X 7" pen and ink

2009

Bear

8" X 10" pen and ink

2009

I don’t often have the pleasure of meeting my PenPets subjects. Many of them are far flung. Some of them have died before I draw them. Thus, I was doubly delighted to meet both Sailor and Bear.


Sailor and I had a photo op on the lawns of the Ellsworth Public Library. He is an elderly gentleman and absolutely charming as only a Golden can be. He arrived for the shoot with his own prop, a favorite tennis ball, which he can no longer chase but which he cherishes just the same. He was cheerful, cooperative, and fabulously photogenic. I took 25 shots of him, all of them good ones, each one showing a different side of his personality. Here are a few of them:

Noble

Kind

Goofy

Playful

Faithful

Rita and I went with the faithful pose, hoping it would sum up every ounce of what makes Sailor special.

I met Bear, a huge and handsome German Shepherd, in the parking lot of Rooster Brother, a great kitchen shop in Ellsworth. Kerri warned me, as she swung open the back hatch of her Subaru, that some folks are afraid of Bear because of his breed and his size. But Bear didn’t live up to his ferocious exterior. He gave each one of us a sweet kiss on the nose and happily let me scratch his ears and compliment him. Bear is an oldster as well, with spine and knee problems. Although he can no longer chase his treasured tennis balls--doctor's orders--he keeps one near to paw at all times. Bear is a big-hearted fellow who talks to his people as if he were human. “He is not just our dog," Kerri says, "but a part of the extended family.”