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

Thursday, December 2, 2021

A painting of Billy - Irish Setter

This is a painting of Billy. He is formally known as CH Bellary Ride Cowboy Ride BN, RI, SWN, CGC, TKN, ATT.

I've known him since he was a pup and painted a mini painting of him at that time. Now it is ...gosh....5 years later and that pup has grown into a beautiful dog. I was thrilled to be able to paint him again. With this painting we used a photo his owner had taken. It was a lovely pose of him. The only draw back was the lighting. The lighting made the darker areas too dark and the lighter areas too light. To get the proper coloring, I relied on a number of other photos. There was one photo where his owner held his ear in her hand so I could see the coloring compared to the skin tone of a person. My goal is never to copy a photo. The photo is only the roadmap to keep the likeness to that specific animal accurate. My job as an artist is to create something special.

My art has opened up the opportunity to get to know so many people and I am blessed to be able to call them friends. When I paint landscapes or wildlife (etc) the paintings are not as personal. When I am painting someone's beloved animal

it is personal and we develop a relationship. I want the recipient of the painting to look at the art and know they are looking at their special pet.

Thank you to Rita for having me paint her boy. It is always an 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!