Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Loving Life

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Loving Life

Our Irish Setter, Monet, is 15 months old. She has so much to teach us if we would only stop, look and listen.

She begins each day with a wagging tail and a positive attitude. She inspires me to be unaffected by negative influences. She is a constant reminder to be happy and enjoy life to the fullest. She makes me smile and laugh all day long.

2 comments:

Donna said...: What a great picture of Monet....it simply says it all. We should all have the attitude of an Irish Setter...they start the day HAPPY, and end the day HAPPY, and everything that happens in between is insignificant "STUFF".
What a lesson to be learned here. The world would be a better place if we could take a page out of their book.

Irishspring4; February 22, 2008 at 8:34 AM
Unknown said...: chtannerI love this picture. I cannot find it in my Monet folder so when you have a moment would you be able to e-mail it to me. Also congratulations on the Best in Sweeps win. Well deserved I am sure. I know that Jewel is coming to the National and assume that Monet will also be there. Eager to see all of you.
Carolyn - rcbilski@rcn.com; February 28, 2008 at 10:14 AM

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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!