Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Painting of Ozzy

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Painting of Ozzy

This painting was recently finished of an Irish Setter named Ozzie.

Ozzy lives on the other side of the Country and I'd been told by a friend that they were grooming this gorgeous dog named Ozzy. About a year later, Ozzy's owner came to me and wanted me to paint his portrait. We all knew we wanted to get some great reference material for the painting. Ozzy's breeder was taking him to a hunt test and had a great opportunity to take some photos in outside lighting. After some discussions on position and lighting, some really awesome photos were sent my way. To my delight, there were several great candidates from which to choose. For the background, the owner wanted some scene that was what one would see out in the field. In one of the reference photos, there were some light golden tans and subtle sages that reflected fall foliage. Those were the perfect colors to use behind a dark mahogany dog. So, I had my background!

I've asked Ozzy's owner to give me a brief story about him and this is what she shared -

I discovered Oz when I approached a local breeder looking for a puppy. Knowing I liked big males, she suggested I take Ozzy (as she calls him) home for trial. It was love at first sight but I couldn't adopt the youngster (3 yrs) till I put in a fence! The transition from show kennel to pet wasn't difficult although Oz skidded on my hardwood floors and barked at potted plants. He quickly abandoned his crate for the comfort of a custom-made bed. Then he went to obedience school to become a Canine Good Citizen. After solving the 'crime' at Canine Crime Investigation" camp, the trainer said the boy had a great nose. So last year he went back to the quail fields of his puppy-dom and easily won Jr. Hunt title. Then he started Barn Hunt and despite being 33 in tall excelled in hunting rats and bellying through tunnels. Now he's back working towards his Advanced Jr. Hunt. He's the happiest when outside whether field hunting, barn hunting, walking Belt-line trails or relaxing on his pipe bed.

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

A big thank you to Ozzy's mom for having me paint his portrait. I feel like I know him and look forward to giving him a big hug when I get to meet him in person~

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

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