Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Cassie and Star

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Cassie and Star

The portrait of Cassie and Star is finished. I'd taken pictures of them quite a while ago for the portrait.

In the photo of Cassie there are some lights and shadows on her face that were not included in her painting. While sometimes shadows can really enhance a painting, there are times they can take away from it. As an artist, I never "copy" a photograph. The photo is simply a reference tool to help create the painting.

In the photo of Star there were many changes from the photo that were necessary. Right away the direction of her pose was wrong. I wanted her looking into the painting and not out of it. So, in the painting, the direction of Star is with her facing left instead of facing right. In the photo Star was squinting. Using other reference photos to verify the shape of her eye when it was not squinting, I opened her eyes up in the painting. The leash had altered her neck line and created an extra fold of skin along her jaw line. In the painting I smoothed down that fold of skin and painted her neck hanging regularly. I used one of my dogs as a live model to see how the neck would hang without a leash pulling back on the folds of skin. I hope you like it!

If you'd like to commission me to paint you or your dog, please email me, call me or go to my website for more information.

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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!