Untitled by Rodney Hardee

Rodney Hardee. Detail of an untitled and undated painting. 12 x 16 in. Courtesy of the Walker Collection of Florida Self-Taught Art.

The background first: a black dog looks up with a wide open mouth. Red lips, sharp white teeth. Brown eyes, pointy ears, a curling tail. Oh. & ‘therz’ a dog, a ‘wof,’ a fox, a hallucination creature of sorts. We'll call him: shadow fox-dog. Pure black. Right in the middle of the frame. There is no sky or ground; the dog and his brown collar are immersed in a lemonade-colored backdrop. Flowery vines emerge from every side of the painting, encroaching him. All together they are red, navy, and lilac. Lilac! Their long, green stems originate outside the canvas with green leaves, or ribs, that are also green. There are not many details. All of the lines are straightforward. The meaning, however, is a mystery.