Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: August 2008

Saturday, August 16, 2008

French Bulldog Painting in Progress

Today I was working on my painting of the French Bulldog as a demonstration at the Fallbrook Fine Art Gallery.

The City of Fallbrook is having monthly functions called "Wine and a Bite" this summer. Patrons purchase tickets which allow them admittance at galleries where food is catered, wine is served and artists are demonstrating on a work of art.

It was quite an honor to be the featured artist at the Fallbrook Fine Art Gallery. A surprising number of people came through. Many people were asking me about my techniques and complimenting my work. There was a young woman aspiring to be a professional artist full of questions. I can remember being in her shoes years ago. I answered her questions and gave her some tips. It was rewarding to give back as so many artists have helped me along the way.

The above photo was taken at the opening of the event when people were just arriving. The finished French Bulldog painting will be featured on my web site in the next week or so - please check back.

Thanks for checking to see what is going on with my art! To see more artwork, originals that are for sale and limited edition prints that are for sale please go to my web site!

Dawn Secord

http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Irish Setter Family Painting

This painting was commissioned as a family tribute. The owners of the dogs live in a beautiful log cabin in Virginia.

There were eight Irish Setter puppies in the litter. I had taken over 100 photos of the puppies playing so there would a large selection of poses for the composition. Ultimately 41 photos of the pups were printed and laid out on my living room floor to finalize the composition. It was important that each puppy be interactive in the painting so that the viewer found themselves being led from one dog to another. Another 15 photos were printed out of the cabin and the parents. When working on a large multi-subject project such as this it is helpful for me to lay photos out to visualize the final composition.

For the cabin - most of the photos had been taken in the winter while the trees were dormant. There was one photo supplied that showed the summer colors and trees full. In the summer photo the colors of the horizon were breathtaking and it was so much fun to capture the colors behind the trees.

Lastly, and very important to me, was the American flag blowing in the breeze on the front porch. My husband and I are very patriot and we were thrilled to see the flag in the photos.

The painting is 20" x 30" and an extremely rewarding project. I hope you enjoy viewing the painting as much as I had painting it. On my website, there is an Irish Setter painting featuring five puppies playing that is available in limited edition giclee prints.

Dawn Secord

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Lhasa Apso - Pastel Painting

The portrait of Andy, a Lhasa Apso, is finished and it was so much fun to paint. Before beginning the painting I went over to get some swatches of Andy's fur and to visit him. He is the sweetest doggie soul you could ever imagine. There is gentleness about him that is indescribable.

Andy's owner was very happy with the painting. What touched her the most was the painting captured Andy's expression and personality. I will miss gazing into his eyes daily while working on the painting. Thank you Andy for being such a good and cooperative subject!

To see more of my work please visit my studio at http://www.dawnsecord.com/. In addition to dog art there are galleries of cat art, horse art, bird art, people portraits, still life, landscapes, beach scenes and floral paintings. A there are also original paintings available and a few limited edition giclee prints.

Thank you for visiting and have a great day!

Dawn Secord

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!