Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Book Reading at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Monday, February 23, 2015

Book Reading at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - February 17, 2015

We had a wonderful opportunity to have a book reading of our book Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore (authored by Marsha Hall Brown and illustrated by me) while attending the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City on February 17, 2015.

The film crew had seated us on a sofa, surrounded by children, while the breed showing was being conducted. One of the organizers handed me a black Labrador retriever to hold during the reading. The lab was so well behaved. There is no wonder why the labs are such a popular breed! The children were very focused on Marsha while she was reading to them.

Marsha turned to "The Great Escape" illustration and asked the children how many dogs were in the illustration. There was a young boy named Travis who was just adorable. The children were focusing on the dogs in the illustration

and they all thought there were 7. Then Travis proclaimed, "WAIT A MOMENT....I believe there are 8" as he pointed to the hidden puppy who was peeking out of a suitcase! Good job Travis!

Without question, this was one of the highlights of the trip. Thank you to the organizers for inviting us to do a book reading. It was great fun!

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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!