Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: July 2011

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Newfoundland Pastel Painting

This painting was recently completed. The upper image is the completed painting. The lower image is one of the reference photos used for the painting.

Since Newfoundlands are water dogs, it was decided to have a water scene as the background. The dog's owners live in Southern California so I used some reference photos of surf I'd taken from Laguna Beach several years prior.

The dog's right eye was partially obscured by her coat. In the painting, I cleaned that area up a bit so both eyes were clearly visible. The bright morning light shown too much on her coat casting a silver look. Thus, the photos neglected to reflect her deep black coat. In her painting, the color of the coat is more accurate.

If you are interested in having me paint your dog please call or send me an email. 909-393-7111 or fff@linkline.com

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Brown Pelican - Original Painting

I recently finished this painting of Brown Pelican. The reference photos were taken on the Santa Barbara, California pier. We had our dog, Bailey, with us. That photo is bittersweet as we lost Bailey several years ago at almost age 13. He was such a great dog.

The painting is on Wallis Sanded pastel paper. I started with an under painting of lightly laid pastel which was then brushed over with terpenoid to cover the entire surface of the Wallis. Almost all my paintings, oil or pastel, have an under painting or colored surface to start out with.

Birds always fascinate me and I love painting them. This painting measures 9" x 12" without the frame and is available for purchase. If interested in it, please email me at fff@linkline.com.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A link to the blog Featuring Artist: Dawn Secord

My work was featured in the blog for writers, "1st Turning Point." To read the article please click on the link below! Thanks for reading.

Featured Artist: Dawn Secord

Monday, July 18, 2011

Laguna Beach, California

My husband and I were in Laguna Beach last month and we took some fun photos around the Montage Resort. This painting titled, "Laguna Beach Palms" is a result of that outing.

Laguna is such a beautiful place. Wish this view was from my window. Alas, it is not!

The painting is for sale. If interested please email me at fff@linkline.com

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!