Our pups are two years old!

This is Hannah - our red girl from the litter.   Her human parents are so much fun and take the kind of photos I take - dressing up the dogs and just having silly fun with them.

Rich and I always look forward to seeing Hannah.  Enjoy her birthday photos!  Am also going to include photos of her parents taken recently.   I see a little of both of them in her!

Getting the Point - a new limited edition print

This is my newest print release.  Sometimes the most difficult thing for me to do is to come up with a name for the painting.   So, thank you to Karolynne for the suggestion of the name, Getting the Point!

Getting the Point started out as an idea to change up my style a little bit.  Almost like wanting a new hair style.  The change folks that are familiar with my work will notice is that the back ground is different.   The colors are more muted and a little less detailed.  My goal was for the painting to be all about the dog and less about what was going on around the dog.

I started with a sanded board and did a light layer of pastel that was then brushed with turpenoid to create an under painting that was more like a watercolor painting.   Once that layer dried, I began layering subtle dry layers of pastel.  Those layers were "smudged" with my fingers and actual paint brushes to feather out any significant detail.

For the dog in the painting, the color was strong and detailed as usual.  The photo of this dog was taken while she was out in the field working.  I saw the reference photo and knew immediately that I had to paint her.  To date, all of my Irish Setter hunt scenes have featured a male dog.  So, it was thrilling to have a female to add to the collection.  I love seeing the dogs doing what comes naturally.  The pheasant in the painting was photographed by me, out in the field, a few years earlier.   In an ideal scenario the pheasant would have been further away from the dog.  However, to keep the gaze of the dog correct and keep the subjects as up close and personal as possible, the pheasant needed to be placed closer to the dog.

The original painting sold at a show.  It happened so quickly.   I hadn't had time before the show to take the painting in to be professionally photographed for reproductions.   Fortunately, the reproduction folks were able to work with some images I'd taken of the painting, so we were able to put the painting into print.

Hope you like this new painting and would love to hear your feedback on the back ground!  The prints are now available on my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com  specifically http://www.dawnsecord.com/printsforsale.html  or call me toll free at 866-393-7111.

Have a great day!