Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: September 2020

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

A painting of Stevie - PBGV - Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen

Here is a painting of Stevie. She is a PBGV - Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen.

Here is a little background Stevie's owner shared with me...I got “Stevie” from a breeder (“Lilly - her previous name” at the time, was 18 Months Old). I lost my last Heart Dog on December 28^th, 2013 and swore NO more Dogs!!! (no more heartbreak) Well, less than 2 Months Later, (Feb. 26^th 2014) Stevie became my Forever Dog and the rest is History. It was Love at First Sight and DEFINITELY a sign from Rainbow Bridge that was telling me, my previous PBGV didn’t want Mom to be lonely. Stevie and I walk for about 5 miles every day and anyone and everyone that sees her, stops to ask me what kind of Dog she is. She captures the hearts of everyone and LOVES both people and other dogs. Her outgoing personality and her zest for life, keep me going and I can’t wait to open my eyes every morning to see her face. She makes me smile, laugh and kisses my tears away when I’m sad. She LOVES to chase squirrels, rabbits and anything else that’s small, furry and moves. She has such an AMAZING temperament and the tail wags CONSTANTLY! Her eyes sparkle and she has brought so much Sunshine and Love in to my Life and I’m Blessed to be lucky enough to be her “Forever Mom”. One other thing is that she realizes how poor my Vision is and actually leads me through trails, paths etc. to find our way home. I LOVE, LOVE LOVE what you’ve created!

Here are the reference photos used to create Stevie's painting. Thank yo to Diane for having me paint your beautiful girl!

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!