Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Australian Shepherd Painting

Monday, December 22, 2014

Australian Shepherd Painting

This is a painting recently finished that was a surprise Christmas gift. Turbo, is a rescue Australian Shepherd. Years ago Turbo was in a shelter with no family. He'd been there for several months which was unusual for the staff to keep an animal that long. Some very kind people came along and found that he was slated to end his stay the next day. They couldn't allow that to happen and Turbo went home with them.

Turbo is now 12 + years old and having health problems. When his owner, Lori, came to me to paint him as a Christmas gift for her husband, my heart melted. Lori sent me a number of photos of Turbo. The one that made me take a deep breath was the one of him years ago laying on a bed with the most adorable blonde haired child. That child came to my home tonight with her parents (now a lovely young woman and a college graduate) to pick up the painting.

What a wonderful life this family has given Turbo and what a precious gift of love he has given them in return. It was an honor to paint him for them. Merry Christmas to the Robertsons!

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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!