Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Holly - a pastel painting of an Irish Setter by Dawn Secord

Friday, August 26, 2022

Holly - a pastel painting of an Irish Setter by Dawn Secord

This is a painting of "Holly" - Meadow Run Walk of Fame.

I met Holly years ago in Southern California. She was a lovely girl. I always knew she was competition for my girls when I showed against her. Some dogs just stick in your mind. Holly was one of those. She was really a beautiful dog and I always loved her gentle expression.

When her owner contacted me to inquire about commissioning me to paint her, I was thrilled. We set about getting reference photos from her owner emailed to me. As much as I really don't like computers, they are a great assistance when getting photos back and forth. I remember earlier days - 20+ years ago when I had to take photos of a painting, have the film developed, and then mail the photo of the painting to the person who commissioned me. Email is my friend!

There was this lovely gentle photo of Holly on the edge of a sofa looking down. It was her owner's favorite and I loved it instantly. In the photo, Holly was bunched up a bit in a corner. For the painting, I took that out and had Holly's head, neck and shoulder only. She was to pretty to look bunched up. The head and expression in the reference photo were perfect. Nothing was changed there. It is my job, as the artist,

to see what to include from a photo and what not to include for the painting.

I asked Holly's owner to share a little bit about Holly and this is what she told me:

I always said she was an easy keeper. Laidback and easy to live with. Rare.

Thank you to Holly's owner for having me paint her beautiful
girl. She was a special girl and we all loved her.

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