Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Maine Coon Cat

Monday, March 22, 2010

Maine Coon Cat

This is a painting of a Maine Coon cat that was recently finished. The cat had passed away a few months before the commission came in.

I was given a CD full of photos from him as a kitten all the way to the adult age. His body was shaved in his older photos and the request was to have him painted at an age when he was a full bodied cat. There were five photos used to create the painting. One reference photo was of his face, another for color, a third for body shape, a fourth for his coat length and texture when he was not shaved, and finally a photo that showed how much coat was on his tail. Photos are like Lays potato chips - sometimes just one is not enough!

It was a pleasure to paint him. If only our pets lived as long as we do!

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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!