Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: October 2015

Monday, October 12, 2015

Portrait of Major for Emily

There is a very special story behind this painting. At the 2014 National I was approached by this cute 15 year old junior handler, Emily, who was just learning to show dogs. She didn't have her own Irish yet, but was showing dogs for others to learn the ropes. She was so smitten with my artwork that she secretly commissioned me to paint her mother's dog as a gift. Shortly after speaking with Emily, her mother approached me. She wanted to commission me to paint Emily's first Irish setter once she had it. Oh gee - what to do. Funny thing is, this has happened to me before. So, I knew what to do - I said yes to both of them and would figure it out later.

Eventually, I told Emily's mother what was going on and we all laughed about it. Her mother wanted me to keep the secret from Emily and let Emily think she was commissioning me when in actuality, the painting would be for Emily.

Now it is 2015 and Emily has her first Irish Setter, his name is Major. Emily is so in love with this pup. I was able to meet him in Georgia and can easily see why she loves him so much. This pup has such an amazing personality, he even let a 3 year old stack him (Major is pictured below with his breeder's granddaughter).

I asked Emily to share her thoughts about Major and this is what she told me;

Major is a fun loving, happy dog who has never met a stranger. He is My Heart Dog. I have never loved a dog like I love him. He, at a young age, went to a nursing home and did amazingly well for a puppy. I plan on getting his CGC next year and hopefully he will be a Champion next year too. He is one of those dogs you meet and he leaves an impression on you.

Thank you to Emily and her mom, Tammie, for letting me be part of your family and create this painting for ya'll. I look forward to watching Emily and Major in years to come.

And of all the coincidences, her pup Major is out of Harmony, who is a litter mate to Drew (our male and Bling's father). So Bling and Major are cousins. Just a crazy coincidence.

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

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!