Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Irish Setters: Shannon, Ginger and O'Malley

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Irish Setters: Shannon, Ginger and O'Malley

These three Irish Setters live in New Jersey. I had the opportunity to meet Ginger and O'Malley in Florida in 2007. We took pictures of both of them at that time for a portrait. Then Shannon was added to the family. We decided to wait on the portrait until Shannon matured and then add her into the painting.

In 2008 we met up again in Arizona at the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty and I took more pictures. They are all absolutely wonderful dogs - great little "posers" and very cooperative for our project.

The painting was created from three individual pictures. The painting was great fun to create and I shipped it off today to its home in New Jersey. That is always the tough part - letting go! To a fun note - what perfect timing - shipping a painting of Irish Setters on St. Patrick's Day! Happy St. Patty's day to Anne, Shannon, Ginger and O'Malley!!!

If you are interested in commissioning a portrait of your animal(s) please contact me toll-free at 866-393-7111, email at: fff@linkline.com or go to my website to print a commission form!

Have a great day!

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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!