Golden Retriever Painting

This painting has been a while in the making.  I'd photographed the dogs over a year ago and their owners were going back and forth on which photos would best represent their furry family members.

The oldest one, Blonde, is the image on the top.  Misty, is on the left, and Cruiser is bottom right.   During this decision making process, the family lost their beloved Blonde.   She was a veteran dog in her senior years.  The loss hit the family hard and put the painting on hold.   No matter how long we have our dogs - no matter how old they live - their time with us is never enough.

Once Blonde's family was ready to tackle the project, it was discussed that the family didn't want Blonde and Misty shown as old as they were.   So, one major goal was to paint the dogs looking younger.   Secondly, the day had been quite windy when the photos were taken and the dogs were all squinting.   I used other reference photos to give me a clear idea of how each dog held their eyelids when the wind was not gusting.   The painting reflects the dogs with calm expressions and no squinting.

Below are photos of the finished painting as well as some of the reference photos for the painting.

It was so special to paint the dogs for this lovely family and I hope the painting brings smiles to their faces each time they look at it.

Golden Retriever Puppy

This is another one of my mini paintings. The subject is a young golden retriever pup. He is probably about 12 or so weeks old.

When I was photographing him he was romping around as any pup should. Then he ran out of steam and fell asleep in the middle of the floor. Who couldn't enjoy spending time with such an adorable subject.

Check on my blog for videos of me working on this painting.

If you are interested in me doing a mini portrait please feel free to email me for information. My email address is fff@linkline.com

Golden Retriever "Prince"

This is Prince - a Golden Retriever. At this time he is gone. He lived to be almost 15 years old and we understand he had quite a healthy life. Prince lived with a great family who adored him.

He was a beautiful dog inside and out. His family told emailed about his portrait, "It is beautiful and captures his soul. You made us cry in a joyous way."

Thank you to Prince's family for allowing me to paint their special boy.

Misty - Labrador Retriever

This is Misty, a Labrador Retriever mix. I met Misty's parents several years ago at a show. The following year they came to talk to me about painting Misty. It was so exciting to hear they had waited a year to find me at the next show and wanted to proceed with the painting.

We scheduled a time for them to bring Misty to my home for photographing. Misty was such a good girl. We took so many wonderful pictures of her it was difficult to choose which was the best candidate for the primary reference photo.

Misty's owners didn't want to proof the painting over the internet - but chose to do so in person. They were very happy with the painting. The kindest and most heartwarming compliment they gave me was to ask me to paint another one of their pets.

To see more of my dog art, cat art or horse art please visit my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/. Thank you for taking the time to view my work!

Art Show At The Dog Show Exhibit

One of my original paintings, "Golden Dreams", was just juried into the annual exhibit, Art Show at the Dog Show. It is so exciting to be juried into this show. This exhibit is for canine artists exclusively and always features many amazing artists.

The golden in the painting is Maggie. She is a senior dog and had gotten a little tired that morning. I had been photographing her for a portrait and she laid down on her owners' bed. The morning light was coming in the second story window and cast the most beautiful shadows on her. This painting was completed some years after the portrait of Maggie had been painted. The pose and the gentleness of Maggie captured my heart and I had waited years to paint her in this setting. The painting has been hanging in my living room for the past few months and now I will be able to share the artwork with others when "Golden Dreams" is exhibited in Wichita, Kansas this spring. Go to http://www.artshowatthedogshow.com/ to see the show.