Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Art Show At The Dog Show Exhibit

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Art Show At The Dog Show Exhibit

One of my original paintings, "Golden Dreams", was just juried into the annual exhibit, Art Show at the Dog Show. It is so exciting to be juried into this show. This exhibit is for canine artists exclusively and always features many amazing artists.

The golden in the painting is Maggie. She is a senior dog and had gotten a little tired that morning. I had been photographing her for a portrait and she laid down on her owners' bed. The morning light was coming in the second story window and cast the most beautiful shadows on her. This painting was completed some years after the portrait of Maggie had been painted. The pose and the gentleness of Maggie captured my heart and I had waited years to paint her in this setting. The painting has been hanging in my living room for the past few months and now I will be able to share the artwork with others when "Golden Dreams" is exhibited in Wichita, Kansas this spring. Go to http://www.artshowatthedogshow.com/ to see the show.

1 comment:

Unknown said...: Really like that painting! :D beautiful job!!; February 5, 2008 at 12:52 PM

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Pastel Painting in Progress - French Bulldog

Here is a painting in progress. The pastel paintings are done very much in the same way an oil painting is done. I start with a base color. Usually I work with a precolored surface. With oil painting I would lay in a foundation color so the white canvas wouldn't show through. So this is the same basis. Since I am right handed I work from left to right unless it is a landscape or still life in which case the entire surface is worked uniformly. With pet portraits, so I don't damage an area that is completed, the surface is worked from left to right. While working an area of the subject I lay in mid tone values first - then work light to dark. With pastels an artist can "fill the tooth" of the surface so it is important not to over work any areas. Once the entire subject is painted I go back and reinforce the lightest lights and darkest darks. My greatest area of interest is the eyes. If the eyes aren't right the entire painting will look odd. If the painting is about a sleeping animal it is important to convey the comfort of the animal.

Oil Painting in Process

The following pictures show an Oil Painting in process. The first images show my beginning sketch. I use a common pencil, ruler and an eraser. Once the beginning sketch is satisfactory the sketch is secured with a layer of black oil paint. When the first layer is dried I apply a base color over the entire canvas. I love working on a burnt sienna foundation. There are paintings where I start just working directly on the white canvas and there is no base layer or foundation. It really depends on the painting. From the base foundation I start layering colors. It is a slow process due to drying time. This is where it really becomes fun. I should really make a recording of my husband saying, "You're done - stop messing with it!" Thanks for taking a peek. This painting is of a cat named Lynxy!