Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Irish Setter

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Irish Setter

This painting of an Irish Setter was done from a professional photograph (with the photographer's consent of course). The dog's name is "Magic" Ch. Marlyn All About Magic.

There was something "Magic" about the photograph. The dog is so regal - so proud. The photo was taken outside and the way the light bounced off the flowing mahogany coat took my breath away. When I was asked to paint the dog I had so many ideas!

I worked from a total of three photographs with the primary reference pose being a photo of Magic standing in the show ring with his handler. The other photos were used as additional reference material for me to make some changes to his muzzle and tail in the painting. The party commissioning the painting had no preference on the background. With the highlights on the dog's coat it was natural for me to make the background dark to draw the audience's eye to Magic's face. I used the lighter color reeds to minimize the attention to the highlights on the body coat. My overall goal was to lead the viewer to Magic's face but keep them engaged in the entire painting.

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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!