Tulsa Studio Hosts Art Show With Kenneth 'Mad Dog' Penn's Original Paintings

A local legend known for selling roses around Tulsa is trying another trade: art.

We last told you about "Mad Dog" in February when he was beaten outside a gas station.

Mad Dog said don't worry; he's still selling roses in addition to his artwork. After the attack, painting has been therapeutic for him.

"Buy a lady a rose. Buy your lady a rose. Yeah," said Kenneth "Mad Dog" Penn.

If you're on Tulsa time long enough, you just might meet Mad Dog with his bucket of roses.

"When I first met my wife, I gave her a red rose," said Mad Dog. "She loved it. Then we got married. Had kids."

But before he was the rose guy, he was a kick boxer.

"Every time I got in the ring I barked, like a pit bull. And Dale said hey mad dog, that's a good name for you. And I said okay we'll go with that. Mad Dog. I like that," said Mad Dog.

Now, he's a painter. "You see I love roses, and I'm a rose guy. I sell roses. And I paint roses all day long," said Mad Dog. "Ain't nothing I don't do."

"I met him when I turned 21 coming into the Buckner Bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma was Mad Dog with a set of roses," said Christopher Mantle, Artist.

They were friends instantly. Christopher Mantle said one day he saw one of Mad Dog's sketches.

"I said Mad Dog, you know you should probably paint some roses and that way they won't die," said Mantle.

"A picture can be worth a thousand words. Oh yeah. I believe that one," said Mad Dog.

In February, Tulsa police said Mad Dog was assaulted outside of a gas station on Brookside.

"Shoulders. Cracked rib. Fractured wrist. Busted knee cap. They kept pounding me," said Mantle.

He's mostly recovered from the beating, and Wednesday was his first art show since the attack.

"I got love in my heart for everyone. And you see I've got painting for everyone," said Mad Dog.