Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Honor to Andrew

Friday, March 21, 2008

Honor to Andrew

Andrew is my youngest brother and one of my best friends. My brothers and I are all close in age and very special in each others' lives.

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to Andy. The flight back from Texas was very tough. Now I am home in California and all I want to do is go back to Texas.

Andy named my first dog - he was 14 years old at the time. He waited up all night for me to return home with "Beau Bear." I was 18 years old and had driven to Austin in a fierce rain storm not returning until after Midnight. Andy was a sleep on the sofa - unable to go to bed until he met my new puppy.

Andy always insisted on being active with my dogs and had a very special relationship with my first Irish Setter, Amber Lee. Andy is very much with me in my heart and I know he will always be there watching over me. I love you Andy.

1 comment:

naturegirl said...: Very nice tribute. I wish I had met him.
V; March 22, 2008 at 4:59 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!