I Wanna Be Patrick Swayze's Dog

When the entire world was going crazy for Patrick Swayze at the height of his fame, I couldn’t have cared less. Sure he was good looking, but I never developed a crush on him. It was only within the last year or so that I began to understand Mr. Swayze’s sex appeal. The man was talented and charming in such a nuanced way that his performances give him a boy next door persona that is incredibly disarming. After watching Ghost, I fell down a rabbit hole of all things Patrick, and came across a photograph that surprised me: A black and white image created in 1995 by the artist Mary Ellen Mark. The photograph shows Swayze in a simple black slip dress and lipstick with a white poodle at his feet. As I admired the image, I had the thought that any dog lucky enough to lay at Patrick Swayze’s feet had a better life than my own. This absurd notion gave way to the idea of a self-portrait painting featuring me as a fluffy poodle contented to live happily ever after at the feet of the handsome Mr. Swayze.