Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Great Danes

I've been working with the owner of these dogs for some time.    When the painting was first commissioned, the pups were quite young.    We had some adorable puppy photos.   We were working out which photos of the pups would go best with the photo of the dam as reference material for the painting.    Life just seems to fly by and all of a sudden the pups were seven months old.    Sometimes my commission waiting list works out best for all!

The reference photos of the pups were wonderful.    One of the pups had her ear down, so that needed to be corrected.   One of the nice things about paintings - we are not limited by what is in life or photos.   Changes can be made where ever needed or desired.

I love painting Great Danes.   There is such a solid regal beauty to this breed.    Thank you to the owner for choosing me to paint them!

To see more of my work, please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The chicks are ....

The chicks are entering that ugly phase. They aren't little puffs any more but do not have feathers yet.

I think they are so ugly that they are kinda cute. Daisy, the white one, is rapidly increasing in size compared to the other three. Hum, I hope she isn't a he!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Sera - the Borzoi

This is Sera.   She lives in California - but was born in Norway.    She is an amazing dog.   Her owners have plans for her to be a therapy dog.   After meeting her a few times, I can tell you for sure - she will be an exceptional therapy dog.

Her "mom" had me do a painting of her as a birthday present for her "dad".    I'm pretty confident he won't see this or I'd have to wait to post until after he opened the painting!!

To see more of my Borzoi work go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/ and click on the Borzoi page in the Dog Art Gallery.

There is also some of my Borzoi work on gift items on my CafePress Store.    Http://www.cafepress.com/dawnsecord

Enjoy the photos - you'll be able to see why we all love her so much!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Summer in Sonoma

This painting is titled, "Summer in Sonoma".    The painting has been a long time in the making.

Every year, I do a new painting to be released at the Irish Setter Club of America National Speciality.    The painting released at this show is always geographically friendly to the location.    For "Summer in Sonoma", my husband and I took a road trip to the wine country of California several years ago.    We went when the grapes were ripening and still on the vines.   I took literally hundreds of photos in Napa, Sonoma and the surrounding areas.

Getting dog models for the painting was a project in and of itself.   I started two years ago organizing the dog photos.   The dogs in the painting were created from four different dogs.    People always ask me, "Who are the dogs in the photos?"    Sometimes the dog is a specific dog.   More often than not, the dogs are changed so that they are not a specific dog.    With the subjects in this painting, as mentioned, there were four actual dogs used.   I used the head from one, the movement from another, the coat from a third and the body from a fourth.     Creating the ideal dog takes longer than having one model.    Lots of adjustments were needed.

I hope you like it and thank you to all the folks that proofed the painting for me and to those who assisted me with dog photos.

"SUMMER IN SONOMA"

If you are interested in purchasing a print, please go to my website and click on the "prints for sale" page or click on this link: http://www.dawnsecord.com/printsforsale.html

Have a great day!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

San Dimas Western Art Festival

My painting, Working Boots, was featured on the program cover for the Western Art exhibit at the San Dimas Western Art Show this past weekend.

It was a blast at the show. I met some really fantastic artists. All the work on display at the exhibit was a feast for the eyes.

Did participate in the "Quick Draw" event. I so did not expect the audience that we had. Was a bit unnerving, but my piece did sell at auction. A fun experience that I look forward to doing again.

If you want to see more of my western art - go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/western_art.html or WESTERN ART BY DAWN SECORD

"Working Boots" is for sale. If interested, email me for more information: 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!