Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: April 2013

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Tennessee..... no traffic and just beautiful

Tennessee is so beautiful. People wave to us from their vehicles. We love to see all the homes proudly flying the American flag. We could live here for sure. People are enjoying seeing the dogs when we are walking them. Another fun day enjoying the USA.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Tennessee...finally

well, after four hours of delays in Arkansas, we made it to Tennessee. We arrived at the hotel at almost midnight. The location was really questionable. So we found another hotel that took dogs and moved to the hotel. So we're set everybody's eaten and it's time to take two tired red dogs for one last potty break.

Arkansas

Well.....we are still in Arkansas. There is so much work being done on the highways here that there is a website to check...arkansashighways.com

We have spent no less than four extra hours here. Right now we are on the 40 with the truck in "park"

Note to self...don't go thru Arkansas to get back to California

Texas Panhandle...day 2

Well, we were able to get five and a half hours sleep last night. The dogs are traveling very well. Faith refused to pee until today. That's pretty normal for her when we travel, makes me crazy though.

Th

ere is rain on the horizon. Thus far, dry freeways for us!

heading to Virginia ...day one

Thank you to Arthur and Lisa for staying at our house with our pets so we could take off and go to Virginia.

we were finally packed by midnight. And the alarm came very early at 3:30 a.m. to get up and hit the road.

Here is a picture of sunrise heading across the California desert.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Bling's first dog show

"Bling"

Rich and I just returned from three days of Irish Setter Specialties. The clubs offered the new 4 - 6 month puppy class. While I have mixed emotions about showing a 4 month old pup, Bling is 5 1/2 months old and we thought this would be a good opportunity to practice before going to the National. She will be 6 months old almost to the day and that will be her first show.

What a great time I had in the ring with her. The judges were all so kind with the pups. They made a big deal about having a fun environment for the pups. They were kind, gentle and absolutely did not expect the pups to behave like big dogs. I can not compliment the judges enough for making this class a wonderful experience for each puppy as they entered into the dog show world.

Bling had some wild moments in the ring. Well, more wild moments than calm if I have to be honest. One judge told me she saw few "movement moments," but what she did see she liked very much. All we could do was laugh.

It was heartwarming to see all the smiles outside the ring. The spectators clapped and appeared to enjoy watching the pups as much as we enjoyed showing them.

Sunday was by far the most challenging for Bling. She went around the ring with exuberance - wagging the entire time. When the judge went to present me with the best 4 -6 month puppy rosette, Bling grabbed one of the streamers and a game of tug toy with the judge ensued. Finally, smiling, the judge handed me the rosette end of the ribbon, as there was no way Bling was releasing her end. Each day the pups were awarded a new toy for their time in the ring. Bling left the ring each day proudly displaying her "winnings."

Thank you the judges for your kindness and patience as well as to all the folks who came up and complimented me on Bling.

As far as showing her in her first official show....I am afraid!! :)

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!