Bling's on the Trail of a Fluffy Puffy Tail - Book # 2 release

 I am so excited to announce my children's picture book, Bling's on the Trail of a Fluffy Puffy Tail, book 2 in my series, is here and for sale.

This children's picture book features my Irish Setter, Bling, as the main character.   In this book Bling shows children about setting goals.   Even though Bling encounters disappointment and discouragement, she does not give up.   She ultimately is able to accomplish her goal showing children a valuable lesson about resilience, perseverance and accomplishment.  Ultimately, Bling shows children about empathy and helping those in need.

website - adogbling.com

email - adogbling@gmail.com

Children's Picture Book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here, featured in Pure Dog Talk Podcast

I am so excited to share that my children's picture book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here, has been featured in the Pure Dog Talk Podcast.    It was wonderful to be interviewed by the host, Laura Reeves.   We had a wonderful discussion and I hope your schedule allows for you to take a listen.   Here is the link:

https://puredogtalk.com/captivate-podcast/664-no-ghoulish-green-monsters-here/

A huge thank you to host, Laura Reeves.   It was so much fun talking with you and sharing our love of pure bred dogs.   My sincere goal with the book was to use my dog, Bling, to help children learn about self esteem, responsibility and team work.

There are some great canine references on the Pure Dog Talk website.   www.puredogtalk.com

For more information on my book, or to order the book, go to my website at www.adogbling.com

Meet the Author, Dawn Secord at the Melissa, Texas Public Library Saturday, July 29, 2023

 Melissa Public Library

Summer Reading Wrap-up Celebration on Saturday, July 29th, 2023 from 11:00a – 1:00p

Location:
Melissa City Hall
Address:
3411 Barker Avenue
Melissa, TX 75454

​Dawn will be signing books in the library.  Come by for a visit!

Art Studio Tour with Dawn Secord

 Hi Friends,

I have finally finished a project that I've been working on for some time - a studio tour of my new studio.   The video is on my Utube channel.  The channel address is Utube Bling Secord and I hope you will subscribe to it.

My goal with the Utube channel is to be more active with video logs of me providing art demonstrations, paintings in progress and recording book readings with Bling at libraries.  Lots of fun stuff!  Below is the link to my studio tour video.  It is 11 minutes long.  You may want to pause it and return if you don't have time to watch all at one time.   Warmly,  Dawn Secord 

https://youtu.be/9JIbloKwCTA

An interview with VoyageDallas Magazine - Dawn Secord

Recently I was contacted by VoyageDallas Magazine for an interview.  It was surprising to see the length of the article.   I sure didn't expect them to be so thorough.  It is an honor to be included.  Here is the link to the article and magazine.

http://voyagedallas.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-dawn-secord-of-north-of-dallas-in-anna/

It was an honor to be included in the magazine.

Bling shows her zoom session setup

Bling is offering a free zoom session for teachers or homeschooling groups who have purchased her picture book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here.

The picture book may be purchased on Bling's website at ADogBling.com   .   If you are in the Texas, a list of stores carrying Bling's book are on the "store" page ...  ADogBling.com/Store/

Thank you for your interest in Bling's first picture book.   Wags and hugs, Bling and Dawn

A painting of Ray and Roderick

This painting was finished a few weeks ago. It has been shipped and in the hands of the lovely lady who commissioned the piece. Her two boys, Ray and Roderick, are at the hunt tests regularly and are awesome dogs. I was able to meet them both last year and take photos of them. 

 

Their owner supplied additional photos of them actually out in the field. I always say, "The more photos, the more reference material for the painting!" The background for the painting is from an actual competition with Ray. (And speaking of Ray - the dog in front) he happens to be a pup out of my dog, Drew. So, he is Bling's half brother. The resemblance in their eyes is uncanny.

Huge thank you to Yana for having me paint for you. It was an honor!

A Dog Bling - a Children's Book in the Making

Many of you know I've been working on writing and illustrating a children's book.  The dummy has been completed and is being sent out to agents.  Woo Hoo!!  The main character of the book is a dog Bling.   Bling is my dog and she is an Irish Setter.   Her best friend in the book is a goldfish named Sushi.  Sushi is a real fish too.  Bling travels the country with me - visiting friends, family, hanging out in my art booth as my mascot, and going to dog shows.  

When creating a dummy book, an illustrator does not complete all the illustrations.  The goal is to have a few illustrations to show an agent or publisher what your work would look like.   The agent or publisher may have other ideas for the book and it is a waste of time and effort to do too much before finding an agent or publisher.   My proposed cover is done and a few of the page illustrations.

https://www.facebook.com/adogbling/

The above image is the first illustration I'd completed for the dummy.   To promote the book and Bling's Facebook page, I am doing an art giveaway featuring this first illustration.   This original illustration was painted in pastel and is framed.

If you are interested in winning the work - please go to Bling's Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/adogbling/

There is no cost and the shipping of the artwork is free as well.   All you need to do to enter is follow the instructions on Bling's Facebook page to enter.

Bling also has a website now and a fan page for children to receive messages from Bling (with the approval of their parents of course).   Bling's website is http://www.adogbling.com    Go take a peek!

For those of you interested in winning the artwork - good luck and thank you for your support of Bling and my children's book.   If you are an agent or publisher and are interested in seeing the dummy or reading the manuscript, please email me at  ...  adogbling@gmail.com

Thanks so much!

Ghoulish Green Monster Illustration

Here is the finished illustration of the ghoulish green monster which was created for the children's book I've written and illustrated.   I can't spoil things and tell you any more!

The illustration is based on my chickens - silkies.   You know, some people are afraid of chickens.  My husband actually has a chicken fear.  His fear is that I will get more of them - :)

The first illustration was done on my tablet digitally.  

 
The final illustration was done in pastel.   

https://twTitter.com/DawnSecord/status/1024373712181649408https://twitter.com/DawnSecord/status/1024373712181649408