Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: A painting of Rogan

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

A painting of Rogan

Rogan is such a cool dog. He shows us what can be done with an Irish Setter. He has beauty, brains and a loving gentle personality.

It always is so sad when people see me with one of my dogs and say (something like this) - "Oh, I used to have one of those when I was a kid. They are such stupid dogs."   It is always awkward - do I respond negatively as their statement is insulting, or do I try to be kind.   The kindness wins out everytime. But, there is a little voice screaming inside me trying to get out.

Irish Setters are very smart dogs. Do they have a lot of energy? Well, yes, they are sporting dogs - bred to work the field all day.   They have to have the drive and build to do so.   As they get older, they quiet down. Just like we do.   I remember as a child jumping on the bed with gusto and glee. It was awesome, it was exhilarating.   Would I do that now? No way - I'd probably fall off and break my leg or something.   Ha Ha. Point is, Irish Setters are very smart dogs and can accomplish whatever we ask of them.   It comes down to the same thing for all dogs, the more time we spend with them, the more they are trained and socialized.   Our dogs, regardless of the breed, can do so much - it is up to us.

I asked Jeanne, Rogan's owner, to share a little bit about him and this is what she shared:

      GCh Ch Roclyn Rockafella, CD BN RE CGCA (Rogan) is a sweet, loving boy who excels in both the show ring and in performance events.

Thank you Jeanne for having me paint your boy.   It was my pleasure.   Below are the reference photos I took of him for the painting (plus one taken by another party). It was a hard choice to decide which photo would be the primary reference photo.   When we are having a challenge picking the photo for the painting, I like to put the top choices side by side. It helps the elimination process.

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

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