A pastel painting of Roody - Irish Setter

This is a painting of Roody.  He is a young male Irish Setter that I had been following on Facebook.  It was so exciting to receive an email from his owner that she would like to commission me to paint him.  We were both going to be in North Carolina in May of 2024.  We set up an appointment for me meet them along with Roody to take reference photos of him. 

It was so fun to meet Roody and his owners in person.   He was such a great dog to photograph for reference material.   I have to say, he was a great sport.  There was so much going on around us while we were taking the photos.   The chaos (with zip lines overhead etc) didn't affect him at all.  He took it all in stride.   A true Irish!  There were so many great photos that we could have used.  His owners chose a photo that was soft and showed the endearing side of this lovely dog.   

The reference photo of Roody used for his painting.  Thank you to his owners for having me paint your special boy.   

Annie - Ch Jewelset's Special Attraction ROM

I first met Annie in Rhode Island in 2005 at the Irish Setter National Specialty. Her owner approached me to photograph her for a painting. This painting was to be a gift to another party.

For the past five years I've admired Annie at the various National Specialties. Once again (to my excitement) I was asked to paint Annie. This time it would be for Annie's human mom to keep and not to be a gift. The same original photograph taken in Rhode Island was used. The only changes were to add the graying to her muzzle that had come in with age. Additional photos were supplied and the painting was started.

Anie is a regal ageless beauty and thank you so much for the opportunity to paint her and her kids. To see more of my work please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

"Niklas" the Borzoi

This is Niklas. He lives in beautiful San Diego over looking the ocean. When my husband and I went down to photograph him he was rollicking in his back yard. He'd sit and look out over the ocean. His owners said that is one of his favorite past times.

We took numerous photos of Niklas looking out at the ocean and some more conventional photos for a second painting which will be a head study.

Niklas is a spectacular dog. He is gentle and sweet yet full of life. It is always heart stopping to watch a Borzoi gleefully bound around their homes.

Watch for another portrait of Niklas in the near future! To see more Borzoi paintings on my website please click here!

Irish Setter Puppy - "Wanna Play Too!"

This painting was just completed to take to the Irish Setter National Specialty.

Several months ago a similar painting of the same Irish Setter was painted. That painting, "Wanna Play" was completed to be part of an exhibit I was featured in at the Pinnell Gallery called "The Art of the Dog". The painting sold at the opening of the show. The puppy in the painting is my dog, Monet, at four months of age.

"Wanna Play" was so well received by those at the opening of the exhibit I decided to do another similar painting - same puppy at probably the same sitting. This new painting is titled, "Wanna Play Too!"

It would be very interesting to hear which of the two paintings you favor. "Wanna Play" is on my blog under the month of April 2009 or on my website under the new painting page. To go directly to that page click this link: go see Wanna Play!.

Art of the Dog Exhibit, Fallbrook, California

This weekend was the first weekend for the Art of the Dog Exhibit in Fallbrook, California. The opening was Friday night. There was wine, cheese and a full gallery of patrons - all very fun and exciting. On Sunday I painted outside in natural light for demonstration purposes.

Thank you to everyone who came by to say Hi. It was a beautiful day to paint outside.

The show closes on May 20th. If you are in the Fallbrook, California area - stop by the Pinnell Gallery to see the collection of my work on exhibit.

Have a great day!

Basset Hound Puppy "Give Me A Hug"

Here is my latest painting for the puppy series that will be on exhibit in the "Art of the Dog" show at Pinnell Gallery beginning the first weekend of May, 2009. This pastel painting depicts a ten week old Basset Hound puppy.

The name of this painting is "Give Me a Hug". Those little eyes were so cute and pleading that "Give Me a Hug" just seemed to fit. If you are interested in purchasing this pastel painting before the show please email me at fff@linkline.com . The painting will need to be shipped to you after the show.

For those of you who live in Southern California - I hope to see you at the show in May. If you need more information - please email me or call me toll-free at 1-866-393-7111.

Have a great day!

Art Show At The Dog Show

The "Art Show at the Dog Show" www.artshowatthedogshow.com has the award winning artwork up on their site now. Almost 600 pieces were entered by 200 artists. The piece I entered "Waiting in the Wing" (which features two English Setter puppies) won a placement in the pastel category and has sold. It was humbling to be excepted into the show, wonderful to receive an award and the icing on the cake to have my work sold.

There is some beautiful work up on the site - I would encourage all who are interested to take a minute to view the artwork.

To see my painting - please go to my web site www.dawnsecord.com and click on the English Setter Gallery or click on this link.

Art Show at the Dog Show - Annual Art Exhibit

On this past Monday, 2/2/09, I received my acceptance letter from the Art Show at the Dog Show.

This is a prestigious exhibit of canine works to be displayed March thru April in Kansas City, Kansas. For more information please go directly to their website at http://www.artshowatthedogshow.com/.

This juried show is the 23rd annual exhibit. It is always wonderful to view the works submitted and various winners. The collection of work is from many wonderful canine artists and to be included is an honor in and of itself.

Painting is my passion - as is showing my dogs. I can never tire of the exhilaration of watching a painting come to life - and I can not imagine tiring of gaiting around the rings with my dogs. The joy is in the act - whether painting or showing. Anything above or beyond that is icing on the cake. The joy is in simply being there.

Thank you to the judges who juried my work into the show. The piece I entered is of two English Setter puppies gazing outside their window into a forested area with a meadow beyond. The original of this painting will be in the exhibit, however, limited edition prints are for sale on my website. You are also welcome to call my studio toll free to purchase 866-393-7111.

To see more of my work please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

English Setter and Irish Setter Portrait

This pastel painting is of two lovely girls, Devon, an English Setter and Amber, an Irish Setter.

Their parents had commissioned me to paint the girls some time ago. We kept trying to get together to take photos and it is amazing how difficult such a small task can become!

We decided to get together at our local club's doggie fun day. The girls were photographed separately in several different locations in the park. We all had so much fun. Devon was a little princess and each photograph was a pose in and of it's self. Amber, on the other hand, was the queen and much to busy to be photographed. At discrete moments she would honor us with a gaze and if I was quick enough I could take the shot. Thank goodness for digital cameras on a speed setting!

There were several great photos of each dog that would work for the painting and the final choice of reference poses and the background of the painting was left to my artistic creativity. I picked poses that were complimentary to each dog and then complimentary collectively. One photo of the girls standing together gave me the reference point on how tall to make each dog when placing the dogs in the painting.

Thank you Devon and Amber for being so cooperative and thank you to Cathy and Dave for asking me to paint your girls!

To see more of my work please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/. Have a great day! Dawn Secord, Artist.

Irish Setter

This painting of an Irish Setter was done from a professional photograph (with the photographer's consent of course). The dog's name is "Magic" Ch. Marlyn All About Magic.

There was something "Magic" about the photograph. The dog is so regal - so proud. The photo was taken outside and the way the light bounced off the flowing mahogany coat took my breath away. When I was asked to paint the dog I had so many ideas!

I worked from a total of three photographs with the primary reference pose being a photo of Magic standing in the show ring with his handler. The other photos were used as additional reference material for me to make some changes to his muzzle and tail in the painting. The party commissioning the painting had no preference on the background. With the highlights on the dog's coat it was natural for me to make the background dark to draw the audience's eye to Magic's face. I used the lighter color reeds to minimize the attention to the highlights on the body coat. My overall goal was to lead the viewer to Magic's face but keep them engaged in the entire painting.

American Staffordshire Terrier

This American Staffordshire Terrier is known as "Brody" by his friends and in the show ring as BIS BISS CH Fraja NE Gold Ticket. He was a Best in Show dog at the tender age of 2 years old.

When his owners approached me to paint him I was thrilled. At that time he was about a year old. We waited a little bit for him to grow up and what a handsome boy he has become. It is amazing the muscle tone and body mass he had added during that time frame.

While his painting was in process I was in San Francisco at a dog show hurrying to the show ring with one of our Irish Setters in tow as I passed Brody and his handler. Exclaiming to my husband, "That is the dog I'm painting" - my husband responded, "Are you sure?" Without question I replied, "Absolutely!" Thank you to his owners for the fabulous photo reference material they supplied and for the honor of painting him.

To see a larger image of Brody - please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Thank you for visiting my art and have a great day!

Dawn Secord, Artist

Boston Terriers

This painting is of two Boston Terriers, Ruby and Slugger. Originally, the portrait was to be solely of Ruby who had recently passed away due to her senior age. A matter of months later Slugger, another senior, passed away as well. Their owner contacted me to give me the devastating news and asked if we could put both dogs in the painting.

His favorite photo of Ruby showed her in a canoe. Once Slugger was to be added to the portrait I asked if the recipient of the portrait ( the portrait was a gift as a 5oth birthday present for one sibling from his other siblings ) if he would like me to paint the dogs in the canoe as the photo showed. He did!

In the reference photo the shore line was above the top of the canoe. I dropped the shoreline below the top of the canoe so that I could get the shoreline in the composition while keeping the poses of the dogs as large as possible. The canoe was also narrowed down a bit in the painting to allow more room for the surrounding landscape.

Ruby and Slugger - in your honor - this painting was done with love.

To view more of my artwork please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Dawn Secord

Specializing in animal portraits

Blog:

http://www.artofthedog.blogspot.com/

Border Collie

This is Murphy, a Border Collie mix. Her painting has been finished for a few weeks now and I realized I had not yet put it on my blog or website.

Murphy is the second dog I have painted for her owners. I had met them several years ago at an exhibition in Beverly Hills where they commissioned me to paint their golden retriever. One of the greatest compliments as an artist is to have someone come back to me for another painting.

Murphy's owners brought her to me to photograph for her painting. It was wonderful to spend time with all of them. It was a very warm day and I was in Malibu at an exhibit. Murphy didn't waiver in her cooperation. What an amazing dog she is!!

I am so thankful to paint for a living and very little else is as rewarding to me as presenting to a person a painting of their beloved animal.

Dawn Secord

Fine Art Web Site

http://www.dawnsecord.com

Dancing Irish Setter

This weekend I finished a painting I've been working on for some time. This is Daysie - an Irish Setter. She enjoys many different activities with her human mom. One of the things that Daysie loves is to dance in competition.

Along with the photos sent to me for this portrait was a DVD of Daysie at a competitive dance exhibition. My husband and I enjoyed watching all the dogs that were performing on the recording. We noticed immediately how interactive Daysie was with her "mom" during the performance. She was absolutely in her element.

The primary reference pose of Daysie showed her in an indoor facility. In her painting I placed her outside in a green meadow surrounded by wild flowers with subtle gentle colors in the background. I hope you enjoy viewing the painting as much as I did painting her.

Dawn Secord
Fine Art Website
http://www.dawnsecord.com/ISGalleryFive.html

Blog
Enjoying the Journey
http://www.dawnsecord.com/ISGalleryFive.html

Borzoi

This is Jazzy a Borzoi. She was the most gentle soul you could ever meet. I had the pleasure of meeting her in person and getting to know her. When I went to take photographs of her she lived on 5 acres. Her owner and I sat in the yard and watched Jazzy while we discussed her portrait, her personality and how Jazzy came to be part of their family.

It was like watching a ballet performance. She had this effortless gait and floated as she moved gracefully across the beautifully landscaped property. In her earlier life she had been a show dog and once her show career was finished she was placed with her current owner. Jazzy had an absolutely wonderful life in one of the most loving families I've had the honor to meet.

This is the second painting I have done of Jazzy. She recently passed away and her owners wanted a painting of her with her ears up and looking gently into your eyes. To see Jazzy's other portrait or any other dog art please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Thank you for looking at my art and have a great day!!

Dawn Secord

Fine Art Dog, Cat and Horse Art

http://http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Blogspot - enjoying the journey

http://www.artofthedog.blogspot.com/

French Bulldog Painting in Progress

Today I was working on my painting of the French Bulldog as a demonstration at the Fallbrook Fine Art Gallery.

The City of Fallbrook is having monthly functions called "Wine and a Bite" this summer. Patrons purchase tickets which allow them admittance at galleries where food is catered, wine is served and artists are demonstrating on a work of art.

It was quite an honor to be the featured artist at the Fallbrook Fine Art Gallery. A surprising number of people came through. Many people were asking me about my techniques and complimenting my work. There was a young woman aspiring to be a professional artist full of questions. I can remember being in her shoes years ago. I answered her questions and gave her some tips. It was rewarding to give back as so many artists have helped me along the way.

The above photo was taken at the opening of the event when people were just arriving. The finished French Bulldog painting will be featured on my web site in the next week or so - please check back.

Thanks for checking to see what is going on with my art! To see more artwork, originals that are for sale and limited edition prints that are for sale please go to my web site!

Dawn Secord

http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Irish Setter Family Painting

This painting was commissioned as a family tribute. The owners of the dogs live in a beautiful log cabin in Virginia.

There were eight Irish Setter puppies in the litter. I had taken over 100 photos of the puppies playing so there would a large selection of poses for the composition. Ultimately 41 photos of the pups were printed and laid out on my living room floor to finalize the composition. It was important that each puppy be interactive in the painting so that the viewer found themselves being led from one dog to another. Another 15 photos were printed out of the cabin and the parents. When working on a large multi-subject project such as this it is helpful for me to lay photos out to visualize the final composition.

For the cabin - most of the photos had been taken in the winter while the trees were dormant. There was one photo supplied that showed the summer colors and trees full. In the summer photo the colors of the horizon were breathtaking and it was so much fun to capture the colors behind the trees.

Lastly, and very important to me, was the American flag blowing in the breeze on the front porch. My husband and I are very patriot and we were thrilled to see the flag in the photos.

The painting is 20" x 30" and an extremely rewarding project. I hope you enjoy viewing the painting as much as I had painting it. On my website, there is an Irish Setter painting featuring five puppies playing that is available in limited edition giclee prints.

Dawn Secord

Painting Lhasa Apso in Malibu, California

I've been working on a painting of a Lhasa Apso for some time in preparation for the Malibu Arts Festival. My goal was to work on the painting in my art booth as a demonstration piece. With pastels there are so many layers that go into achieving the look I give hair that it is important the piece be well underway during the demonstration so people can see what the finished areas will look like. Being right handed I work left to right generally so that the areas that have been finished are undisturbed by my hand.

The painting of the Lhasa Apso, named Andy, was a very fun piece. I was able to meet Andy in person which is not always possible. From the time he was photographed to when his portrait was started he had lightened up a bit in color. So his owner cut some hair swatches for me to match his current color. There was a swatch of hair from his lower ear, his muzzle and his chest area. The color swatches in addition to the photographs were of great assistance.

In the next few days the finished painting will be posted - so be sure and check back!

To see more of my paintings please to to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

Have a great day!

Precious Moment - Irish Setter

"Precious Moment" is one of those magical moments of a mom and her baby. The reference photo was not staged.

The owner of the dogs was there with her camera at the right time and caught a magical moment. She has told me several times how excited she was to have been there at the right time and the right moment to take the photo. She wasn't sure which puppy was in the photo as most of the puppy was concealed by the mom's coat. The owner has a favorite puppy from that litter though so she tells herself that is the puppy in the painting!

In the photo the mom's head was pushed up into the side of the whelping box so I had to use other dogs as models to determine the angle of her head. My client confirmed that I had gotten the head correctly before I proceeded forward. For the painting I took the whelping box out of the composition and had the dogs laying on soft blue bedding. We all call Irish Setters "Red Dogs" when actually the color of their coat is more orange. Blue is a complimentary color to orange which is why I chose the background to be that color. The client who commissioned the painting was very happy with the completed piece. When she was in my studio picking up the painting she was looking at the various paintings I have on the wall - landscapes - still life - seascapes and of course the animal paintings. She asked me what I enjoyed doing most. I told her it was giving the animal paintings to the client - I never realized how much happiness my paintings could bring and that undoubtedly is my most cherished part of painting.

Limited Edition Prints of this painting are available on my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com.

Ringo - Irish Setter

I met Ringo's human parents a few years ago. It was exciting when they later contacted me and asked me to paint Ringo. We planned to get together in Arizona at the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty to take reference photos for his painting. Until that time they sent photos of him to me from time to time.

Once in Arizona I was going up the stairs of the hotel and saw someone walking down past me with a beautiful Irish Setter. We stopped and chatted briefly while I petted the dog. The owner told me his dog's name was Ringo. I started laughing and said - OH! This is Ringo!!! It was a funny moment. Several days later we met up again to take the photos. Ringo was so cooperative during the photo shoot and there were many great reference photos for the painting.

When the painting was finalized Ringo's parents told me what they were most happy with was the way I had captured his gentle nature in his eyes. Ringo is now embarking on an exciting career as a therapy dog. I'm sure he'll bring many smiles to those he touches.