Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Dani and Scorch

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Dani and Scorch - Litter Mates

Here is an original pastel painting of Dani and Scorch.

I was working on this piece while at the National recently. Originally, I was only going to be painting Dani. Then Scorch's owner died and he was returned to his breeder, Diane. He was able to be reunited with his litter mate, Dani, which is bittersweet.

I had photographed Dani a while back. Currently, she is as gray in the face as Scorch. For their painting, I loved the contrast between the darker faced Dani and they graying face of Scorch. Diane agreed. We left the colors on the dogs painting as in the reference photos - rather than showing Dani as she is now, gray like Scorch.

Below are the reference photos for the painting. There were so many photos to chose from. The fun angles of their heads jumped out at me immediately. I knew these were the two reference photos for the painting, but would Diane agree. And she did!

www.dawnsecord.com/commissioninformation.html

Thank you to Diane for having me paint her babies. It was my honor.

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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!