New Greeting Card "Treasured Moment'

This is my new greeting card. It is titled, "Treasured Moment". The layout was just finished and cards should be shipped to me sometime towards the end of the week.

The cards come 8 to a pack, are blank inside and include 8 envelopes. Pre-orders are welcome. Cards will be shipped out as soon as they are received from the printer. Packages of 8 are $14.00 plus shipping and tax for California residents. As a bonus, any cards purchased between now and March 1st will be eligible to win one extra pack of cards. A random drawing will be conducted 3/2/2012.

Go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/greetingcards.html and click on the greeting card button or prints and stationary.

Have a great day!

Drew's puppies

Here is a picture I received of Drew's ( AM & Int'l CH Willowbrook Artists Rendition) first litter of pups. They are eight weeks old in this photo when the had their first visit with Santa.

Doberman Pastel Painting

This painting is 17" x 27" and features Kayla - a new champion. Kayla's owners have each of their Doberman's painting when the dogs finish their American Kennel Club (AKC) Championship. As a fun addition to the painting, an AKC ribbon is placed in the painting along with the dog.

I had met Kayla's owners at a dog show where she was not present. Traveling to Northern California allowed me to meet up with the owners and Kayla and be able to photograph Kayla in person. She was an awesome model and I obtained some wonderful reference material from our photo shoot.

The ribbon is a ribbon one of my dogs had won. So, I had a real life ribbon to paint from - an added plus.

Thank you to Kayla's owners for choosing me to paint their beautiful girl!

Merry Christmas from Jewel

This is our girl Jewel. She will be 13 years old next month. Jewel has been my model in so many paintings since she was a pup.

To say I love this dog is an understatement.

Large Oil Painting in Process

I've been working on this painting all year - a little bit at a time. It is still not done. There are a few little things that I'd like to adjust. The sides need to be painted and finally, when dry, it should be varnished. Between commissions I'll take a few hours here or there and work on this painting. It has been a fun progress.

My first oil painting commission was to my high school principal. It is fun to take a little time and do something for our house. I hope to have it done by the time of the 2012 National and bring it with me.

Camping at Laguna Beach

We decided to take out dogs and go to the beach for a few days. I took a few paintings with me that are works in progress. It has been so nice and quiet to work down here. tonight we had an absolutely gorgeous sunset. We took a walk down to the beach on Friday and found there was a pod of Dolphin about ten feet off shore. Some other beach goers said they were mating. It was very interesting to watch. They kept a very leisurely pace and going in large circles. Not sure what they were doing, but it was a fabulous opportunity to see them so up and close. We had a great time at the beach, was able to paint very long hours without the usual distractions, had fun with the dogs, and wished we could have spent more time there!

Drew's 1st JH Leg

Drew earned his first leg towards his Junior Hunter title today. My husband, Rich, has been working with Drew.

It was the first time out for both the boys. Drew had a wonderful score and some very complimentary words from the judge on his hunting ability. Good job Rich!!

There are a few more pictures from today on our website at http://www.irishsetter.me click on Drew's page.

Bull Mastiff Pastel Painting

I just finished this mini painting of a Bull Mastiff. The owners did not have any great photos of the dog - so I pulled my cell phone out and took a photo with my cell phone. The delay on the phone camera is so long that the photo came out a tad blurry due to the dog moving. The painting image (not including the frame) measures 5" x 7".

To see more of my dog paintings go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Black Dog Oil Painting Finished

The Black Dog oil painting is finished! It has been drying for a number of weeks and then varnished which required additional drying time.

As I write this the painting is being shipped cross country to the corporate collector. Can't wait to hear their response when the painting is received.

The painting measures two feet by three feet. Love doing the larger than life oil paintings. Check back - a larger than life oil painting of an Irish Setter is drying and waiting to be varnished. Will post photos soon.

Black Dog Oil Painting in Process

The painting is coming along nicely. If you'll scroll down through my posts you will be able to see more photos of this painting in process.

Irish Setter - A painting of Sully

This painting is of a dog named Sully. He was a gorgeous dog and had a wonderful personality. I had the pleasure of being in the show ring with him many times as I showed my Irish Setter, Jewel, at the time he was being shown.

Sully is no longer with us - but he will be in our hearts and memories forever.

Irish Setter Pastel Painting

This is an original pastel painting of Autumn, Ch. Summit Rise Thyme in a Bottle, CD.

Autumn's owners had sent a number of photos of Autumn for the portrait. There just wasn't the perfect photo. Then, all of a sudden, there were two photos that were just great. The perspectives were correct, the expression of the dog was soft, there were some nice highlights and shadows, the reference material was ideal. We all agreed which photo would be the primary reference pose and the painting was started. In the two photos shown above, the photos were taken in such a way that I couldn't see the length of Autumn's ears. Fortunately, there were other reference photos that gave me the details that were missing from the primary photos.

I've added some green highlights through out the portrait ( such as in the coat, the nose, the eyes and eye lids) to create a color harmony with the background. I always emphasis to my collectors, it is important to realize my goal is not to simply copy a photo. That would be too easy. My goal is to create an original painting based on the likeness of a given animal. I make changes in lights, in darks, in detail around the facial features such as the eyes, nose and mouth. Part of Autumn's bottom lip showed in the reference photo. That was not needed in the painting. There are a number of reflections in both eyes that are not in the photos. There are colors in the nose that are not in the photos. Photos are simply a road map to keep me on track so my paintings capture the likeness of a specific subject. The creativity starts with the photo but ends with my imagination.

Black Dog Oil Painting photo 3

This painting is coming along. The 2' x 3' canvas is fun to work on. It is so much fun to paint the larger than life oils.

Once the black paint (that reinforced the initial sketch) had dried a layer of semi-translucent burnt sienna was put all over the entire canvas.

The white hair was laid in first as the black hair will eventually be layered over that. Slow process with drying time - but is coming along nicely.

Autumn Splendor

This is the first painting in my newest series, the Seasons Series. It is the "fall" season. There were several background photos used for the painting taken at different times in the year.

For the painting to really have the feel of fall and for color harmony in the painting, a great deal of warm reds and yellows were incorporated into the background that were not in the reference photos.

The model for this painting I had met several times over the years and is a Best In Show winner. When in Wisconsin a few years ago his owner had commissioned me to paint his portrait. During the photo session, something in the pine trees caught his attention and he swung his head around to look at the distraction. One thing led to another and this painting, Autumn Splendor came to be. Prints are for sale on my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/printsforsale.html

BEST IN SHOW - Great Dane Painting

"A Great Moment" was awarded BEST IN SHOW at the Irving Art Association 2011 3rd National Unconditional Love Juried Pet Show. The exhibit runs through September 2011.

Prints of the painting are available on my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/printsforsale.html

Thanks for taking a peek!