Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Commissions of litter mates

Friday, July 11, 2014

Commissions of litter mates

I've been working on a few commissions at the same time (those of you who know me well are laughing). Doing so allows me to keep a fresh eye on the bigger pieces due to the hours involved in completing them. I switch back and forth between the paintings. That way, my eye is fresh and the little things that could have been overlooked are not.

http://www.dawnsecord.com/commissioninformation.html

http://www.dawnsecord.com/dogartgallery.html

It has been fun to see the dogs and get to know all four of them. Tragically, one of the dogs passed just a few weeks before the painting was completed. He was a senior dog - but had been quite healthy. His illness came on quickly and there was nothing his owner could do but say goodbye. I was going to be working on his painting at the Irish Setter National. It was heartbreaking to show his painting to his owner. She was prepared for it and handled it better than expected. She said the painting has kept her boy, Romance, close to her and is thankful she had it done.

The above photos are the finished paintings and the reference photos supplied for the paintings. The first pair of litter mates is Magic and Lincoln. The second pair is Shevy and Romance.

Thank you to the owners of these dogs for entrusting me with such special projects.

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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!