Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: February 2020

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

A painting of Behbinn

This is a commissioned painting of Behbinn. "CH Malleyrhu First Love JR"

She is gone now, but she lives on in the heart of her owner and through her puppies that enrich our lives.

There is a long story behind Behbinn and me, and I will attempt to keep this short....

In 2009, my husband and I were attending the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty which was held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that year. Our young male dog, Drew, had placed 4th in the 12 - 18 month class. A friend and art collector, Claire Andrews, had approached me to compliment me on Drew. Anyone who knows Claire, knows a compliment from Claire is a big deal. Claire then went on to recommend Drew as a potential stud dog to another friend, Jan Mathews, who had a lovely young girl named Behbinn. Jan and I talked about a possible breeding. Our dogs were too young at the time. There was a lot to be accomplished before truly considering to breed these two dogs. We wanted them to complete their championships, they needed them to undergo health testing and receive various health clearances, time would tell - but we decided to talk down the road.

Two years later, our two dogs were of age, they were champions, and had their health clearances. I took photos of Behbinn, and her pedigree, to Pat Haigler, my mentor, and sought her advice on the potential breeding. Pat and I sat down and discussed all the dogs in the two pedigrees. It was decided - we would move forward with the breeding.

Behbinn's reference photo - thank you Kathy Roscoe

Drew and I were in Southern California at the time, Jan and Behbinn were in Rhode Island. Previously, my husband and I had two breedings with Drew to our Monet, both didn't take due to timing issues with Monet. We didn't want to risk a timing issue with Behbinn. Getting the frozen semen to Behbinn was challenging on a timing basis. Thankfully, we were successful and a lovely litter of pups rewarded us. Jan kept "yellow boy" aka "Brady" from the litter. Here is a photo of me and Brady a few years ago. He is a lovely dog. Rich and I lost Drew a few months ago. Through Brady, we have a little piece of Behbinn and Drew to warm our hearts. Much thanks to Jan (and Claire) for seeing the beauty Drew had to contribute to the lovely Behbinn. Thank you to the owners of their pups for the fantastic homes they have given them.

Rich and Dawn with Brady aka CH Malleyrhu California Red Patriot JH, TKN, TKI

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!