Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Tucker - An Irish Setter

Friday, April 4, 2014

Tucker - An Irish Setter - Pastel Paintings

Just finished a double commission of an Irish Setter named Tucker.

The owner had me photograph her dog, Tucker, for a painting for her. She had a brainstorm and decided to have me paint a mini painting of the same reference photo for Tucker's breeder as a gift. It was very sunny out on the day we took photos and, as a result, the photos were not the correct color of Tucker. So, to make his paintings accurate, the color of the paintings needed to be much darker than the reference photos.

We were all at the same dog show and the breeder had been chatting with me not knowing a gift was forthcoming. It was killing me not to tell her I had a painting for her - but it was not my gift to give! Later, after Tucker's owner had picked up both paintings from me, I saw the breeder headed my way with a smile on her face. What a fun day for all three of us!

Thank you to Bonnie for allowing me to be part of your "family" and for choosing me to paint your boy....twice!!

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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!