Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: July 2015

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Dottie the Italian Greyhound

This is Dottie. I met her owners last year and we discussed the possibility of me painting Dottie's portrait. As the conversation progressed, the idea of having two photos of Dottie in her portrait, a head study and a racing shot, became the goal.

Dottie's parents had some amazing reference material for photos. But, I'd never seen an IG race so I met up with them and was able to watch their dogs run in person. I took more reference photos and had a blast. Those little guys ran like rockets!!! I'd taken one of my Irish Setters with me, Bling, and someone asked me if she was racing. We all had a good laugh over that one.

For the painting, they chose to have me paint a head shot of Dottie when she was younger. She had a beautiful collar on but it obscured my view of her markings. So, they took a photo of her in without the collar. Great help!! On Dottie's neck, the colors were subdued to ensure the viewer would be drawn to Dottie's face and to also make it more of a subtle area on which the racing part of the painting would be layered.

For racing part of the painting, the lights and darks were vibrantly emphasized so it would appear Dottie was running right off the painting at you. It was important that the racing image on the painting not blend into the portrait part of the painting.

Hope you enjoy the painting of Dottie as much as I did painting it!!

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

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

Friday, July 10, 2015

Mini Pastel Painting - the Perfect Gift!

This is a mini pastel painting 4 x 4.

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

It is the perfect size for a gift.

More information is on the website link above. On the above link, the painting that is being signed is a 6 x 6. Another great gift size. The 4 x 4 is $125.00 and 6 x 6 is $250.00. Shipping, tax (if applicable) and framing not included.

I do a lot of gift certificates for paintings these sizes. Email me or call me for more information.
FFF@Linkline.com
DawnSecordArt@Gmail.com
(909) 393-7111

Happy July everyone!

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!