Bling's on the Trail of a Fluffy Puffy Tail - children's picture book

 My next children's picture book should be here any day!   

In this second book, Bling (our main character) sees a fluffy tail outside and just HAS to find out what it is.   She embarks on a journey to find that tail.  The book shows children to set goals and perseverance as they accomplish those goals.  When Bling finally finds the tail, she finds a little critter that is in need of help.   Rescuing the little one gives children a glimpse into empathy and helping those in need.   

For more information on this new children's picture book, go to the book's website at ADOGBLING.COM

A painting of Rufus

This was a very special dog named Rufus.   Rufus was a much loved companion and his owner, Shirley, shared many fond memories of him with me.  The biggest part of Rufus that she wanted captured in his painting was his kind eyes which created his gentle expression.

Shirley had an assortment of photos of Rufus.  The one photo that really touched her heart was that of him sitting on a grooming table at a dog show.   The photo's environment was not ideal due to the lack of lighting at that show venue.   The photo was ideal in capturing the essence that Rufus' owner wanted reflected in his painting.  

When working with a photo like the one chosen, I am offered a true image of what I need to include in the painting.   However, without proper lighting, it will be more work on my part.  ( I do not mean that in a negative way whatsoever.)   It is my goal to add dimension to the painting that is lacking in the reference material due to the lighting.   I want the painting to show what is missing in the photo but reflect the essence of our main character - Rufus.   It is important that we see the bone structure of the dog.  This will allow the painting to be dimensional and not flat.   It allows the painting to look more realistic.   Lighting has everything to do making the painting feel like you can reach out and pet the dog.  It may take me longer to get the painting where I want it to be and that is okay.  The efforts are greatly rewarded emotionally when I am able to provide someone with a special painting that touches their heart.  A weaker photograph allows me to be more artistic.  I have to be creative.   As always, I don't want to be known as an artist who is copying a photograph.   I want to be known as the artist that uses creative liberties to create a real work of art and only used photos as a road map to the destination of that particular journey.  

For the background Shirley had some amazing photographs of her property.   She chose a photo that had amazing clouds on that given day.   The color was amazing.   As beautiful as it was in the photo, a balance was needed to not allow the background to overpower our main subject.  Another opportunity for me to be creative in the overall composition using artistic liberties.   One example of this is how I used the clouds as directional arrows (if you will) to direct the viewer to Rufus' eyes.   I followed the photo but yet I didn't.

Thank you to Shirley for having me paint your special boy.   Thank you for allowing me to be an artist and create a special painting for you.   I hope this painting touches your heart whenever you look at it.  With gratitude - Dawn.

Sophia

 It was so exciting when Sophia's owners asked me to paint her.

I've spent time in and out of the show ring with her and not only is she beautiful physically but her personality is delightful.  We'd taken photos of her for the painting a couple times.  She is so photogenic that picking a reference photo for the painting was very challenging.

Thank you to Sophia's parents for having me paint her and for our friendship.

http://www.dawnsecord.com/commissioninformation.html

Thru an artist's eyes...August 2, 2018

Our senior dog, Monet, is rapidly approaching her 12th birthday.   She hasn't changed a bit.  Yes, her face is white and her gait not quite as spry....but her eyes...they are still the same as they were 12 years ago.   She has this zest for life that shines through her eyes. 

There is something magical about the eyes - notice with Monet's eyes how the wetness reflects the objects in front of her like a mirror.   Look closely.   We can see the reflection of the blue sky, of me kneeling in front of her with my cell phone to take the photos - even the driveway and surrounding foliage. The white hair of her face envelopes her darker eye which is the focal point of this photograph.   Isn't it fun to take the time to look a little more deeply into the photo and see these small finer points.   There is so much beauty in this photo.  The beauty of the dog, the beauty of the flowering Crepe Myrtle tree and the hints of the blue sky peeking through.

 Next time you look at an image, take a moment to look a little more deeply and find something you didn't expect to find.  There may be visual surprises in the subjects you didn't think would be fascinating or beautiful..