Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: July 2022

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Troy Grayson - Labrador Retriever - Original Pet Painting

This is a painting recently completed of Troy Grayson. Grayson is his middle name - not to be confused with his family's last name. I always give our dogs two names (Bling is known as Bing Bing at home as an example) so it tickled me when he was named as he is.

Troy is 8 years old now and I've known him since he was a pup. He actually stayed with us for a few weeks when he was a baby while his owners went on a lengthy vacation. He is everything we love about Labrador Retrievers. He is fun, loving, gentle spirited, and a great family dog.

For this painting, Troy has been photographed several times and we have been waiting for the perfect photo that would show his personality. When the reference photo had been taken, I was in California for an art show and was staying with Troy's family while there. It is much more fun to stay with a family than a hotel! We took photos of Troy for the painting and this reference photo was the one that touched his owner's hearts and would be used for his painting.

Last summer Troy was diagnosed with lymphoma. He had a roller coaster of a time going through the treatments. He is in remission and his family couldn't be happier. Modern medicine? - miracles? - maybe a combination of both. Thank you to Troy's family for having me paint your special boy.

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!