Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: Show Dog Escape

Showing posts with label Show Dog Escape. Show all posts

Monday, February 23, 2015

Book Reading at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - February 17, 2015

We had a wonderful opportunity to have a book reading of our book Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore (authored by Marsha Hall Brown and illustrated by me) while attending the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York City on February 17, 2015.

The film crew had seated us on a sofa, surrounded by children, while the breed showing was being conducted. One of the organizers handed me a black Labrador retriever to hold during the reading. The lab was so well behaved. There is no wonder why the labs are such a popular breed! The children were very focused on Marsha while she was reading to them.

Marsha turned to "The Great Escape" illustration and asked the children how many dogs were in the illustration. There was a young boy named Travis who was just adorable. The children were focusing on the dogs in the illustration

and they all thought there were 7. Then Travis proclaimed, "WAIT A MOMENT....I believe there are 8" as he pointed to the hidden puppy who was peeking out of a suitcase! Good job Travis!

Without question, this was one of the highlights of the trip. Thank you to the organizers for inviting us to do a book reading. It was great fun!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Book signing in San Diego - would love to see you there!

Our book, Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore, has been well received and won several awards.

Marsha has been awarded:

The Mom's Choice Award for Excellence

There is one illustration of a cat in the book. To our humor and delight, the cat illustration is currently our award winning illustration.

Certificate of Excellence by the Cat Writers' Association, Inc.
Best Cat Illustration of the Year 2014 (Single Illustration category) by the Cat Writer's Association, Inc.

In addition, Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore has been nominated in three separate categories for the prestigious Maxwell Medal by the Dog Writers Association of America. The categories are:

Best Single Illustration (in all genre)
Best Series of Illustrations (in all genre)
Best Children's Book

http://www.dawnsecord.com/Illustrations-by-Dawn-Secord.html

Winners will be announced in New York City at the annual Dog Writers banquet - the Hotel Pennsylvania on Feb 15, 2015

Books are available for sale on the book's website at

http://www.showdogsescape.com

If you are interested in one of the original illustrations, please let me know. A number of them have been sold. Please email me if you have a question concerning the originals - they are not yet on the book's website.

dawnsecordart@gmail.com

The next public book signing will be in San Diego, California at the landmark Hotel Del Coronado.

1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA, 92118, telephone 619-435-6611
Signing will be from 11 am - 3 pm on Saturday, December 20th. The location will either be in the signature room on the mail floor or outside the Blue Octopus Toy Store. Would love to see you there!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

"Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore" by Marsha Hall Brown

For those who know me well, you know I've been creating illustrations for a childrens' book written by AKC judge and dog writer, Marsha Hall Brown.

The book is finished and is in the editing / copyright stages.

Here is a fun teaser line....

The dogs in the ring and the dogs in the gallery cry out in dismay, hoping to stop the imposter by alerting the attention of the show officials. Who is this intruder? Who ruined the show?

I can't wait to share the illustrations with you. It has been such a fun experience and I've found a love for illustrating that I didn't expect. There is a whole new element of creativity that has been found in my journey as an artist.

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!