Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Dancing Irish Setter

Monday, September 15, 2008

Dancing Irish Setter

This weekend I finished a painting I've been working on for some time. This is Daysie - an Irish Setter. She enjoys many different activities with her human mom. One of the things that Daysie loves is to dance in competition.

Along with the photos sent to me for this portrait was a DVD of Daysie at a competitive dance exhibition. My husband and I enjoyed watching all the dogs that were performing on the recording. We noticed immediately how interactive Daysie was with her "mom" during the performance. She was absolutely in her element.

The primary reference pose of Daysie showed her in an indoor facility. In her painting I placed her outside in a green meadow surrounded by wild flowers with subtle gentle colors in the background. I hope you enjoy viewing the painting as much as I did painting her.

Dawn Secord
Fine Art Website
http://www.dawnsecord.com/ISGalleryFive.html

Blog
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http://www.dawnsecord.com/ISGalleryFive.html

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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!