Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: April 2021

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Reba and Luna - a painting of a mother and daughter

This is a painting created using soft pastels. It is of two Irish Setters, a mother and daughter.

Reba (left) and Luna (right) were mother and daughter. Reba has left us and Luna is a special girl that allows her family not only to love her deeply, but have a little piece of Reba through her.

Until we bred a litter, I didn't truly appreciate the depth of having a mom and a pup. Through the pups you see tidbits of their parents - the mannerisms, maybe little quirks - inherited traits. These traits, unless you knew the parents, maybe just fun aspects of that given dog. Knowing the parents, you understand the tidbits are inherited little precious moments that remind you of their parents. We see that in our human families. Fun little behaviors inherited from parents or grandparents.

For the painting, I flipped Luna's pose in her reference photo so that she would be leaning in towards her mother. The beauty of a painting is there are no rules. You can paint what is in your heart and create the setting. It was a great experience to paint a mom and her pup together. Thank you to all those involved.

Give your dogs a big hug. Time goes by so quickly. Regardless of mom, pup or otherwise, before we blink an eye, that dog has grown older and we are wondering how time passed without us knowing it was happening.

Below are the reference photos used for the painting:

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Cooper - Original Pastel Painting

When a new painting image is posted to my blog I usually talk about the painting and the process while painting that commission. Recently, in a small boutique in McKinney, Texas, I happened upon a small book containing a collection of great sayings. I thought it might be fun to share some of these inspirational tidbits. In the atmosphere of wanting a positive environment surrounding all of us, following is my inspirational share for the day....along with a piece of my art.

An original painting - Cooper

Self respect,

self worth and self love,

all start with self.

Stop looking outside of

yourself for your value.

author unknown.

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!