Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Ringo

Friday, June 20, 2008

Ringo - Irish Setter

I met Ringo's human parents a few years ago. It was exciting when they later contacted me and asked me to paint Ringo. We planned to get together in Arizona at the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty to take reference photos for his painting. Until that time they sent photos of him to me from time to time.

Once in Arizona I was going up the stairs of the hotel and saw someone walking down past me with a beautiful Irish Setter. We stopped and chatted briefly while I petted the dog. The owner told me his dog's name was Ringo. I started laughing and said - OH! This is Ringo!!! It was a funny moment. Several days later we met up again to take the photos. Ringo was so cooperative during the photo shoot and there were many great reference photos for the painting.

When the painting was finalized Ringo's parents told me what they were most happy with was the way I had captured his gentle nature in his eyes. Ringo is now embarking on an exciting career as a therapy dog. I'm sure he'll bring many smiles to those he touches.

1 comment:

Nitelite said...: Having had the pleasure of handling Ringo while in Michigan, I can attest to what a lovely, sweet dog he is - a wise soul for such a relatively young dog. Therapy work will be wonderful with him. The portrait is beautiful, and sure to be a treasured family heirloom.

Laura Salvatore
Traverse City, MI; July 16, 2008 at 9:06 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!