Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: A painting of Guinness for Celeste

Thursday, August 4, 2016

A painting of Guinness for Celeste

A dear friend, Celeste, has been so patiently waiting for the painting of her beloved horse, Guinness. He had been a member of her family for many years.

When the painting was in process, Celeste shared this with me about Guinness (she was mentioning the person who owned him prior to her):

I bought him when he was nine. He had been on a friend's farm from a youngster, trained and shown by her. So, she knew him well. That is probably why he was so hot and forward as that was they way she liked her horses. He was an exciting ride and the kindest horse I ever knew on the ground.

People who own horses understand they are like a big dog. They know who you are and love you. When I was growing up in Texas, I had a friend who had gotten a working horse from a cattle ranch. The horse's owner passed away out on the range and the horse stayed with him until someone came and found them.

The bond between a horse and owner can be as close as with any other animal.

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

The reference photo is shown above. This photo was taken before our wonderful digital cameras and was a 3" x 5" photo. Guinness had gotten into the house. No surprise there (he sounds like he was quite the character)! My challenges were to overcome the lighting caused by the flash and to see his bone structure hidden under his halter. It all came together and I can't wait for Celeste to see the painting in person!

Thank you Celeste for having me paint your special boy!

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