Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: children's picture book

Showing posts with label children's picture book. Show all posts

Thursday, February 12, 2026

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

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Bling Matisse is on another mission - enjoy her video

Click below to watch the Utube video. Please remember to subscribe to Bling's U-Tube channel!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/163t2ajaVS/

Monday, December 30, 2024

Pure Dog Talk Podcast: Dawn Secord and No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here

Huge thank you to Laura Reeves for featuring my children's picture book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here, on her podcast, Pure Dog Talk. The website for the book is ADogBling.com

Monday, December 16, 2024

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

Monday, September 25, 2023

Book Event - Wine and Music Festival in Prosper, Texas

October 7, 2023

Windsong Ranch - WINE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, Prosper, TX

NOON – 6:00 pm

Windsong Ranch - WINE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL, Prosper, TX

Windsong Ranch in Posper, Texas, is having a wine and music festival on October 7th, 2023 and has invited the Visiual Arts of Prosper to participate. The artists will be in attendance with booths and Bling has been invited as well.

Come and meet some of our artists. Dawn and Bling will be signing books in their booth. Look for us in the greenbelt entry area to Windsong Ranch.

We will have her books and some fine art on hand and for sale.

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Writer's Digest features my journey to self publishing. By Dawn Secord

My friends, family and art collectors know I had a life long dream of writing and illustrating my own children's picture book. No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here is that book and the first in a new (and forth coming) series featuring my Irish Setter, Bling.

Writer's Digest has asked me to share my journey of self publishing my award winning picture book. What an incredible honor. Below is the link to my article. Thank you to Writer's Digest for the opportunity to share my story and hopefully be of assistance to other authors and illustrators on their journeys.

Direct Link:

Lessons Learned From Self-Publishing My Picture Book - Writer's Digest (writersdigest.com)

Link Address:

https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/lessons-learned-fro
m-self-publishing-my-picture-book

No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here - a children's picture book

Awarded "Silver Award" by Mom's Choice Awards
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) July 2021 reading list
Finalist - International Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

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

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!