Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Drew and Carrots

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Drew and Carrots

I was writing a story about my dogs for my September newsletter that goes out to art collectors and friends. The story was about our dogs and carrots. So, it seemed like the appropriate move to take Drew outside and pose him with a carrot in his mouth.

At first he looked at me like... "you have to be kidding me!" I put the carrot in his mouth and gently told him "hold it". And he did. Then a cat came by hunting lizards - he held the carrot. Then I moved him to a second location for better lighting...and he held the carrot.

Finally, I moved him to a sunny area by a hedge and asked him to hold the carrot....which he did for about 10 shots. He then ate the carrot. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Drew is a little charm. Let me know if you want to see my newsletter and I can forward it to you. Take care - enjoy those carrots!!!

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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!