Art of the Dog: Dawn Secord: show dogs

Showing posts with label show dogs. Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Book signing in San Diego - would love to see you there!

Our book, Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore, has been well received and won several awards.

Marsha has been awarded:

The Mom's Choice Award for Excellence

There is one illustration of a cat in the book. To our humor and delight, the cat illustration is currently our award winning illustration.

Certificate of Excellence by the Cat Writers' Association, Inc.
Best Cat Illustration of the Year 2014 (Single Illustration category) by the Cat Writer's Association, Inc.

In addition, Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore has been nominated in three separate categories for the prestigious Maxwell Medal by the Dog Writers Association of America. The categories are:

Best Single Illustration (in all genre)
Best Series of Illustrations (in all genre)
Best Children's Book

http://www.dawnsecord.com/Illustrations-by-Dawn-Secord.html

Winners will be announced in New York City at the annual Dog Writers banquet - the Hotel Pennsylvania on Feb 15, 2015

Books are available for sale on the book's website at

http://www.showdogsescape.com

If you are interested in one of the original illustrations, please let me know. A number of them have been sold. Please email me if you have a question concerning the originals - they are not yet on the book's website.

dawnsecordart@gmail.com

The next public book signing will be in San Diego, California at the landmark Hotel Del Coronado.

1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA, 92118, telephone 619-435-6611
Signing will be from 11 am - 3 pm on Saturday, December 20th. The location will either be in the signature room on the mail floor or outside the Blue Octopus Toy Store. Would love to see you there!

Friday, May 9, 2014

Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore Illustrated by Dawn Secord, Artist

Those who know me well know I've been illustrating a children's book for the past three years. The author of the book is AKC judge and dog writer, Marsha Hall Brown. It is exciting to be able to say....the book is finished and published. It has been a wonderful journey working with Mrs. Brown.

Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore is a great story of learning that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, that competitors can be friends and teamwork accomplishes more than going solo.

The website is under construction and will sell a collector's issue of the book (autographed by author and illustrator

along with a dust jacket and book mark), the original illustrations, prints and posters. http://www.showdogsescape.

For now, the book is available from Barnes & Noble and at Amazon. com

Follow the book on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Show-Dogs-Escape/635951903145270 and Twitter https://twitter.com/ShowDogsEscape

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Irish Setter Portrait

I just finished this portrait of Katie and Rowan - Irish Setters. Their owner commissioned me to do the painting last year. We were able to meet up in Wisconsin in June where I photographed the dogs and spent some time with them.

The moment I walked into their hotel room and looked at Rowan I said, "That is a Hoolie pup!". Turns out that Rowan is a Hoolie grandson as is my young male, Drew. Both boys are 2 years old - give or take a few Months. When I was painting Rowan my husband walked in my studio and said with a question in his voice, "Why are you painting Drew?" Hoolie can sure put his stamp on his get.

It was a pleasure to paint Rowan and Katie. It will be hard for me to ship the painting off, and then again, what's new? It is always a bit hard for me when my paintings leave!

If you are considering having a painting done of your dogs, please go to my website and click on commission information or email me at fff@linkline.com

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!