Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Duet - Portrait of an Irish Setter

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Duet - Portrait of an Irish Setter

I was commissioned to paint Duet last year. I'd taken some photos of her in Georgia when I was there last April.

Her owner really enjoys the playful side of Duet - who is quite charming. Knowing Duet's portrait was to focus on the fun loving Duet, we took photos of her playing with toys, chasing toys, watching toys - anything and everything with toys. We just didn't get the perfect reference photo. My camera had been malfunctioning on me and the focus was delayed. So frustrating to be out of town and having your equipment fail.

Some months passed and I was sent a number of new photos of Duet. One caught my attention immediately. Duet's head was cocked a bit to the side and there was a sweet yet slightly mischievous look in her eye. I contacted her owner and we both agreed - we had our reference photo.

Duet lives in the in a lovely area with flowers blooming all around her. When asked about the background for the painting, her owner told me, "She also is know for running through the flowers…mostly lavender, white and purple lilacs and white and pink peonies." It just was perfect to add some fun girly colors in the background.

It was great fun painting Duet and capturing that rollicking side of the Irish Setter that they represent.

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

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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!