Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Bridges of Madison County

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Bridges of Madison County

Rich and Jewel outside one of the covered bridges of Madison County.

Rich and Drew walking into a covered bridge. Isn't the countryside beautiful? Iowa - America's Heartland.

Rich and Drew posing outside one of the bridges of Madison County.

Big kisses from Dawn to Monet.

Dawn and Monet enjoying the landscape and the beautiful sound of song birds in the surrounding trees.

We made a special trip to photograph the bridges of Madison County, Iowa. This is the location for the movie featuring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep of the same name "The Bridges of Madison County". Rich and I have to watch the movie again to see if we recognize anything from the quaint town of Winterset!

We pondered over why bridges were covered? Was it to keep ice off the bridge for horse carriages? When photographing one of the bridges there was a narrative inside the bridge that gave us the answer. The large wooden beams that make up the flooring of the bridge are very valuable. So much so that the bridges were covered to protect the floor boards. The cost of the covering was less than the cost of the flooring. Now is that not interesting?

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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!