Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Nick

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Nick - English Setter

This portrait of Nick was painted in pastel. I had met Nick's family while traveling in Michigan. They had come to my art booth and mentioned they had a dog named Nick that they wanted painted as a gift. The next day they returned with a photograph that was amazing - a small snapshot actually. The lights and darks were a great contrast - his ears were blowing in the wind and Nick had a relaxed facial expression.

I readily agreed to use the photo as reference for the painting. My one and only concern was Nick's open mouth. The last thing I wanted the focal point to be in the painting was a red tongue smack dab in the middle of the painting. To avoid such I subdued the colors of his gums and tongue and emphasized the whites in his face.

The painting came out nicely and the recipients of the gift were more than pleased.

To see more English Setter art or Sporting Dog art - please visit my dog art gallery.

On her website Dawn has cat art, horse art, bird art, still life paintings, landscape paintings, beach paintings and people portraits.

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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!