Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: The Girls of Tuesday

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Girls of Tuesday

This is a painting of three litter mates - Irish Setters. The theme of this litter was New Orleans. I have shown against these dogs for a few years and have enjoyed getting to know them. When their owner asked me to paint the girls I was thrilled.

We took quite a few photos. The hard part was choosing which photos we collectively liked best. And...there were a number of them!! My goal is to not reproduce a photo - my goal is to make a painting using a photo as reference material. If you look at the photos and the final painting you'll see shadows in the photos that are not in the painting, colors in the painting that are not in the photos, high lights in the painting that differ from the photos and most importantly - the eyes have a life like quality.

For the background, the owner of the dogs wanted something to do with New Orleans. We toyed with making the background the French Quarter and having Mardi Gras beads around their necks. (well....the beads were my idea - over zealous with the theme!)

Ultimately, we both felt a gentle landscape was the best choice. As a surprise, I added the Spanish Moss hanging from the trees. When I've traveled through Louisiana, the hanging moss has always fascinated me. It gives the trees a very gentle dreamy quality.

Thank you for taking a peek!

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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!