Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Irish Setter "Moxie"

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Irish Setter "Moxie"

This is a portrait of Moxie - in the dog show world she is known as BIS/BISS Am. Can. Ch. Windntide Sand In My Genes CD, JH, RN, CGC, VC.

Moxie has been an Irish Setter I've admired for years. She is a few months younger than my heart dog, Jewel. There have been few but wonderful times we've shown against Moxie in the ring and I've been able to admire her from an intimate distance.

It was a joy to be secretly approached by Patrick at the Arizona ISCA National Specialty in 2008 to paint Moxie's portrait as a surprise gift for Carol. We took a number of photos of her there and additional photos were sent to be afterwards. Moxie is quite the little "sailor" and can be found yachting around the Northwest Pacific. It was a perfect scene to paint her sitting comfortably in the vessel she knows so well.

If you are interested in having me paint a portrait of your dog please email me at fff@linkline.com or call me!

Thank you to Moxie's parents for the wonderful experience of working together on our "Moxie" project. I hope Moxie touches you when you view her portrait as much as she touches me.

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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!