Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: August 2026

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Portrait of Irish Setters and Siamese Cat

This is a special painting. I took photos of the subjects the summer of 2025. The cat, Kit, was a veteran cat (21 years old at the time I photographed her). Her owner was able to provide me with a photo of her when she was a younger cat. Breanna, the oldest dog, passed shortly after we photographed her. She loved rally and obedience. Her owner and I were thankful we were able to get ideal photos of her. Carrol, Doyle's dam, was lovely and a complete angel with the camera. Of course, Doyle, a pup at the time, kept us in smiles. Kit and Breanna were best buddies. Both passed now - making the painting even more special.

When painting multiple subjects in a painting, I create several collages of different photos so the collector and I can compare photos side by side. It is a great tool to help decide which reference photos we want to use.

Thank you Tiffany for having me paint your special pets. It truly is an honor.

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!