East Texas Afternoon - Pastel Society of the Southwest 4oth National Juried Exhibition

 There is an interesting story behind this painting, East Texas Afternoon.

Last  year, I was asked by a friend to do a real quick color sketch for a pond he was potentially expanding in East Texas.   There were two ponds, side by side, with one being at a slightly higher elevation.   One pond was on his property, the second pond on a neighbor's property.     There was an agreement that the neighbor's property was going to be sold and the two ponds would be merged at some point.    Merging the ponds would help stop drainage from one to the other while allowing the neighbor's grandchildren to fish in the ponds.

My task was to create a visual aid of the two ponds - apart and merged.   We drove out to East Texas and I photographed the ponds.   I did the following sketches and sent them off to my friend.

A few months later, I decided to do a painting of the ponds - not a sketch, but a true painting.   Well, I wasn't really happy with what I created so I trashed it.   Yep, gone, no more painting.   Sometimes that happens when I am doing something just to do it.   If I know what I am painting, it is different.   Very seldom do I feel the need to trash something.    This painting was the equivalent of a bad hair day.

I wanted a new painting to enter in art shows in 2021.   Most art shows will only accept work done in the last few years.  Doing so much commissioned work gives me little time to create paintings for other purposes.   I pulled out my photos of the ponds and sat down at my easel.   Instead of painting one pond this time - as I had done previously, I painted both ponds with one flowing into the other.   Of course, there was no reference photos for this as the ponds are still separate.   The painting is an artist's interpretation of what I envision the ponds to look like once they are merged.   I also added more color to the trees and water.   The reference photos were taken when it was late summer.  No leaves had really started changing color.   I love throwing color where I imagine it - finding that balance in a composition of color harmony.

Where am I going with all of this?   Well, the painting has just been accepted into a national juried show to my delight.   Will it win something - only the judge will determine that.  Though I questioned my trashing the original painting at the time it was trashed, I am so glad that I didn't trash the idea of the painting.   Thank you to the Pastel Society of the Southwest for sponsoring their 40th National Juried Exhibition.   I am thrilled and honored to be a part of it.  For those in North Texas, the exhibition will be in Grapevine, Texas from September 13, 2021 through November 1, 2021.

Rich's Collection

I started this landscape painting several years ago. My husband, Rich, would not let me sell it and insisted once finished it would be part of his private collection of my work.

So, for Christmas I took it out of storage and dabbled with it a bit. Added some fun greens, blue greys and a few darks. Finally I signed it and surprised him with a completed painting.

Now it is officially finished, framed, and being enjoyed by my husband.

The Pastel Journal June 2009

My 11 week old kitten, Baby Lacey, was supervising me putting new information on my website.

What a good little helper!


I was just interviewed for an article about studio lighting for the International publication, The Pastel Journal, June 2009. My studio has quite a bit of natural light in the mornings, but artificial lighting is needed in the afternoons. It was not until one of my studio lights broke and was replaced with an inferior light did I realize the quality of the Ott-Bulbs I was using. One of my paintings, Waiting in the Wing, is pictured in the article. This painting has been sold but there are prints available on my website. They may be purchased directly from the English Setter gallery.

To see the article in full please go to my web site and click on "In the News". The article information is locked there.

Have a great day!

Boxer Puppy "I See You"

This brindle boxer puppy was so much fun to photograph. She was running around the yard - chasing toys and just a joy to watch. Her name is Chili and we affectionately call her "Chili Dog".

"I See You" is the name of the painting and if you look closely you will see the puppy is looking at a lady bug on a blade of grass. The pastel painting is one of the puppy series I am completing for my upcoming exhibit "The Art Of the Dog" to be on display at the Pinnell Gallery. The show opening is the first weekend of May, 2009. This painting is for sale - if interested please contact me at fff@linkline.com

If you are interested in commissioning a painting of your dog please contact me!

Thank you for viewing my work - have a great day!

Hannah - Irish Setter

This Irish Setter is "Hannah" Ch. Winfree's Love Of My Heart. The painting was done from a professional photograph - with permission of course.

In April of 2007 I had taken photos of Hannah while attending the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty in Ocala, Florida. Hannah's owner knew what photo she wanted me to use for the pose - but wanted me to meet Hannah in person and take photos of her for additional reference material.

Hannah is one of those special dogs that can look right into your heart. The above pose is so precious - the tilt of her head and the softness of her eyes tells you what a priceless princess she is!

To see more of my work, purchase limited edition prints or to commission a portrait of your dog please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Drew (Irish Setter) gets his first point.

Drew turned 11 months old exactly on the day he was awarded his first champion point. "Drew" Willowbrook Artist's Rendition, is our fun little boy. He also was awarded best Irish Setter puppy and went on to win a Group 4 in the puppy sporting group (his second puppy group placement).

He weighs 70 pounds and is constantly trying to get in our laps. My father in law was visiting this past weekend from Santa Barbara and had taken a seat on our living room sofa. Drew went up to him and slowly climbed in his lap. My mother in law was laughing and we could barely see my father in law who was hidden from view by Drew's body.

We have great hopes for Drew in the show ring. More importantly - he is a member of our family and is an absolute dream to live with.

I have some plans to use Drew in future paintings. To see more pictures of Drew please visit my website and scroll down to the bottom of the main gallery page and click on "Dog Show Photos".

Have a great day!

Drew Secord - Ten Months Old

Many of you know my husband and I show our Irish Setters. This is strictly a for fun exercise. Our dogs think of the show ring as a fun trip to the park. They get to play with other dogs (safely) - they get treats - they get to meet other people and most importantly - they get out of the yard and have a fun day.

I've shown Drew infrequently for a few months now and I was so proud of him - he held his stacks, gaited properly and really tried to keep "four on the floor!" He has turned into a pick pocket though and is sniffing all passersby pockets!

To see more pictures of our dogs please go to our website and look for the button that says Dog Show Photos. 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.

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

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

Bennington Center for the Arts

Once a year the Pastel Society of America (PSA) sends invitations out to their signature members to apply to be juried into the annual PSA Signature Member exhibit. The Pastel Society of America is the most prestigious pastel society in America.


A signature membership is an elevated status of an artist which allows that artist to follow their signatures on paintings with the initials of the art association. I was juried into the PSA as a signature member. Non-member artists may only apply for associate membership in PSA once annually. Associate members that would like to be considered for signature membership may apply once a year for that status.


My work, "Golden Dreams", was accepted into this exhibit. The accepted works will be on display in Bennington, Vermont from June 7 - August 3, 2008 at the Bennington Center for the Arts. http://www.benningtoncenterforthearts.org

Irish Setter Greeting Cards

Recently I finished this painting of an Irish Setter. Each year when my husband and I attend the ISCA National Specialty my goal is to come out with a new image of a setter on greeting cards.

The originating photograph was taken by a professional photograher. Permission was obtained to use the photograph for reference material to paint a portrait for the owners of the dog. I loved the pose of the dog, she is so beautiful and regal, and the fun blues used as the background color were a flattering compliment to her coloring. This was the ideal piece of my artwork to put into greeting cards this year. The photographer was contacted and permission was extended to use his image not only for the painting but for the painting to then be put on my greeting cards.

Thank you to all parties involved for being supportive of these new greeting cards. The cards may be purchased from my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Buzzy the Thoroughbred

Buzzy's portrait was just completed. Buzzy had been a race track horse and is now used for competitive riding.

I took over 100 photos when photographing him for a portrait. His owner had me take photos of him in his English bridle, posing with their dog, standing freely and running in the arena. The photos were taken mid morning and the sun was just peeking over the hills and had cast back lighting on Buzzy as he ran towards me. The natural lighting effect was spectacular and ultimately played a large role in which photo was chosen to be painted. He is a very kind horse with an edge of energy. This painting shows both sides of him.

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.

People Portrait: Lindsey

Many people know me only as an animal artist so here is a recent painting of one of the people portraits that has been completed recently. The ocean behind the subject was much darker in the reference photo.

When the original colors were first laid in the ocean competed with Lindsey as the primary focus. Before painting in pastel I was an oil painter for over 20 years. With great frequency the skills learned over the years in oil painting have rolled over into my pastel paintings. To take the focus off the background I used some greys and blue greys to glaze over the existing colors to knock the ocean back into the distance. The waves then need to be re painted with lighter greys and some very light yellows. The result was exactly what I had intended. Lindsey popped out from the background.

This painting was done on pastel board and is 16" x 20", This was the first time I had used this surface for painting a person. The pastel board allowed me to do a lot of mixing right on the surface and gave me a feeling of working once again in a wet medium with the imediate results of a dry medium. It was a great experience and I look forward to using the pastel board more often in the future.

Dawn Secord Blog

Today is a big day. I have finally taken the time to start my blog. A dear friend recently suggested that a blog be started to keep my collectors up to date on what is going on in my "art" life. As with anything, a blog spot came down to time. I was thinking the other day what is something every one wants, rarely appreciates and never has enough of. The answer was simple in my life - it all comes down to time.

The painting pictured here is "Sweet Dreams". This painting recently returned from a month long exhibit in New York City. The exhibit was hosted by the Pastel Society of America (PSA) which is the most prestigious pastel society in the Country. The exhibit is an annual event. PSA accepts about 200 pieces of art Internationally. Being part of this exhibit was a great honor. To visit the PSA website please go to http://www.pastelsocietyofamerica.org/. Limited Edition giclee prints are available of this painting.