Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: canine art

Showing posts with label canine art. Show all posts

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Portrait of an Irish Setter pup by Dawn Secord

This is a portrait painted in pastel of an Irish Setter puppy named Killesandra. The portrait was commissioned by a daughter for her parents. In the reference photo used, her ear was tucked under the edge of the coffee table. I changed the ear in the painting to show the ear folded out and resting on the top of the table. Thankfully artists are not limited by what they see or don't see.

Killie, as she was affectionately called, was less than a year old when her life was cut short. During that time, she had a profound impact on her family and is dearly missed. Losing a dog at any age is horrific to those who love them. Their lives are just not long enough. Losing a young dog is especially difficult.

Here is a poem written by one of her family members.

KILLESHANDRA

You joined our family as a wee little one

Another Irish lass full of fun

We planned on taking you to dog shows

And soon were reminded that’s not how life goes

Your energy levels were hard to contain

From catching rodents, you would not refrain

You jumped really high, almost clearing the fence

We put up a screen to act as defense

You loved to run and loved to chase

The rest your head with an adorable face

We hoped to breed you to your big brother Row

And watch your puppies run to and fro

Then one day we saw something amiss

You were sick, but still had such bliss

A doggie doc said the news was not great

A shorter life would be your fate

We confirmed with our local pet vet

Knowing ten months was the best we would get

As so, with tears in our eyes we let your go

To cross the bridge colored in rainbow

You went to play with our pups in the past

Being sure for eternity you would have a blast

Losing a pet is always hard it is true

But always know we will forever love you.

Monday, February 17, 2014

"Monet" CH Rusticwood Spellbound CGC

Monet is now seven years old - it breaks our hearts to think of her as a veteran....how did that happen? Her pups are 16 months old and she has been getting a little envious of us taking Faith and Bling to the dog shows.   So, we are going to bring her out now and then.

On January 26, 2014 she won Best of Opposite Sex at the Orange Empire Kennel Club - a major win towards her grand championship.   She now has 16 GCH points with very little showing.

She is such a great companion.   We couldn't have asked for a more special dog.   Thank you (again) to Carolyn Dison for entrusting the "pink" girl to us.   She is not only in our home but in our hearts.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Laguna Beach - Plein Air Oil Painting

I spent the last three days plein air painting with a group of fabulous artists. The workshop was hosted by Greg LaRock. Not only is Greg an incredible painter but he is an incredible instructor - a winning combination.

On the third day my husband, Rich, brought Jewel (our veteran Irish Setter) down and joined me for the day.

My body is telling me I spent a ton of hours in the same position and since it is early in the morning it is best to take a couple aspirin over a glass of wine.

Hope you enjoy the photos. The painting in pictured here is not finished but will be in the next week or so. Please check back on my web site at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Have a great day!

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!