Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: June 2022

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here wins two new awards - 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards

I am so very excited to share that my children's picture book (illustrated and written by me) No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here has won two new awards. These two awards are:

2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Finalist - Children's Picture Book Illustration (Best Illustrator)

2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Finalist - Best Overall Design (Fiction)

This makes 8 awards received for the book. The other awards are:

Awarded "Silver Award" by Mom's Choice Awards
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) July 2021 reading list
Finalist - International Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest
2021 Winner - Animal and Pets category, Pinnacle Book Achievement Award NABE (National Association of Book Entrepreneurs)
2021 Children's Picture Book Award - 2nd Place, North Texas Book Festival
2021-2022 Reader Views Literary Awards Winner-Sponsored/Specialty award-The Feathered Quill Be Kind to Animals Awards

It is beyond exciting to have my first authored and illustrated book so well received. A complementary coloring book has just been released titled, "Sit, Stay and Color with a Dog Bling". The books are available on the book's website at adogbling.com and Amazon.com

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!