Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Art of Dawn Secord

Showing posts with label Art of Dawn Secord. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Bailie - Portrait of an Irish Setter

It was very exciting when the commission was received to paint Bailie. She reminds me so much of my girls - squirrel hunters and full of rollicking personality. It is always fun to watch the posts made about her on Facebook. She has the most beautiful tender eyes.

I asked Bailie's family to tell us a little bit about her. Here is a poem that was shared:

DON’T DRINK BAILIE’S IRISH CREAM

Our pretty Bailie

Full of love and joy

She’ll scream like a banshee

When there is kibble to enjoy

When we’re feeling down

Or when she wants a hug

She’ll nibble our chins to town

And with her toys she gives tugs

She moves well in the ring

And in the yard runs so fast

When squirrels the trees do bring

She gives chase, their lives don’t last

She hates the roar of thunder

When storms come our way

Her little body shudders

In the tub she’ll safely lay

She is our precious Bailie

Who sleeps on her back

She makes us very happy

Our love will never lack.

Thank you to Bailie's family for having me paint your beautiful girl!

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.

Tuesday, February 27, 2018

California Otter Pup

In June of 2016 my husband and I traveled to Morro Bay, California to pick up a kitten (who will be 2 years old this week - where has the time gone???) and to my delight there was a bay full of sea otters with pups. I took literally 100s of photos.

http://dawnsecord.homestead.com/Wildlife-Art.html

Here is the painting that was created. The painting is small, 6" x 6", and is on sanded board.

The painting is a combination of several photos. The otters were floating on a kelp bed. The goal was to have a direct view of the pup's face in the painting. I absolutely love painting the eyes of the animals. The tiny paws of the pups were adorable and they just had to be in the painting.

For the sanded board, I took an acid free coated board and put an additional coat of toned gesso for a gray / taupe colored under painting. Then I took "pastel ground" a textured acrylic primer for grit to get a deeper tooth for the pastel. I used a thick brush to apply the layers of gesso for even more texture. It was not an experiment but rather a direction to create some unique feeling to the pastel painting. In viewing the painting close up, one can see brush strokes in it. When I paint in oil, I love to see the brush strokes. My goal here was to give a brush stroke feeling to the pastel painting.

Hope you like it! The painting will be on exhibit the last weekend of April 27th thru 29th, 2018. If you will be in Southern California (San Dimas - which is about 1/2 hour from my home in Chino Hills - 1/2 hour from the Ontario CA Airport) please come by! Would love to visit.

Here are a few of the photos taken in Morro Bay, California that were used for the painting.

http://dawnsecord.homestead.com/Landscapes.html

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!