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!.

Never say never......

This weekend was the Mission Circuit dog show in Pomona California. This show has the reputation of being a "professional handler's show". We exclusively owner handle our dogs. The only time we had a handler was one time with Jewel at last year's National. So, we try to stay away from the shows deemed "professional handler shows". While we totally appreciate and support people using handlers and have many handlers as dear friends - we choose to show our own dogs.

The show venue is 15 minutes from our home. We have two young dogs and we thought lets enter them just for schooling purposes since the show is so close. We entered Drew on Friday and Saturday. Monet was entered on Sunday.

On Friday Drew went Winners Dog. Saturday he was dumped though he showed his little 15 month old heart out. On Sunday Monet went Winners Bitch. Hum - and we didn't want to show there because we were so certain we wouldn't do well. Goes to "show" - never say never. Thank you to the judges for finding our youngsters.

If you want to see more of my dog show photos please go to my website - and from the main gallery page scroll down to the bottom and click on Dog Show Photos or click on this hot link.

Irish Setter Painting "Classic Country"

This is the first piece in my new series - the "Country" series. My goal is to come out with a new painting in this series once a year for the next three or four years.

Each year I come out with a new painting that is put into print to be released at the Irish Setter Club of America National Specialty. The painting always has some commonality with the show venue. This year the show is back east so the setting for the painting is the Amish area with a horse drawn antique wagon.

The puppies in the painting came from all over the Country. Some are from the West, one from the North and some from the good ole' South. The main dog in the painting had over 300 photos taken of her to find the exact pose that would make her look like she was laying on the wagon seat. People sent me wagon photos from all over the Country as well. The wooden boxes were derived from photographing a wooden box used by a friend's uncle who was in the Navy. The box was for his personal belongings in the late 1800's early 1900's. The painting was a year in the making. The name "Classic Country" defines what I wanted to achieve with the painting - a country theme with old time country equipment and puppies just playing in a field.

This original painting is sold. Prints are available on my website or by calling my studio at 866-393-7111.

If you are interested in commissioning a painting there is a page on my website concerning commissions. Calls are always welcome on my toll-free studio line.

German Shepherd Dog - Parker

This is Parker and she was a German Shepherd Dog. Parker passed away three years ago. I understand Parker was a wonderful and loving dog. Her best friend was a pug named Pugsley.

When Parker's owners came to view her portrait at the gallery they had tears in their eyes. They expressed how surprised they were that I could capture so much detail from the photos they had. Many times people don't take photos of their pets with regularity. When they decided to have Parker's portrait painted they found they had very few photos of Parker and none that were what we were looking for as far as ideal photo reference material. Right before I started the painting they found a photo, long forgotten, that turned out to be the perfect reference. The photo was small and old - but valuable!

Monarch butterflies have great significance to Parker's owners so I put a Monarch in the painting at their request.

Sure wish I could have met Parker.

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

Thanks for taking a peek at my work!

Irish Setter - Magic in Dog News

Magic is an Irish Setter I painted at the end of last year. His owners, Marilyn and Carolyn, called me from a dog show in Pennsylvania yesterday to let me know his advertisement in the publication, "Dog News", was out and they were receiving many compliments on his painting ringside.

Thank you to Marilyn and Carolyn for using my artwork as an advertisement for their wonderful dog.

To see a larger image of Magic's painting please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/

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!

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!

Lacey and Monet

Lacey (Lynx Point Siamese) is now ten weeks old and fitting into our home quite nicely. Monet (Irish Setter), who is two years old, is quite intrigued with her and is trying to clean both ends of this little kitten.

Monet loves cats and her new little girl is a constant source of amusement for all of us.

Monet and Lacey are very much a like - fearless and friendly. It will be interesting to see what kind of bond develops between them as the years pass.

German Shorthaired Pointers

This painting was a very exciting piece to complete - and quite a project. Of the six dogs (five german shorthaired pointers and one labrador retriever) three of the dogs were deceased. My client had very limited photos. Some of the photos were perfect and some were not.

The mountain range in the background is called the "Three Sisters" in Montana. The client wanted a cameo of her husband in the tree line hunting. The foreground reference was from a photo I had taken while driving cross country at a fort in Wyoming. Between her photos and mine I had two pheasants, six dogs, one husband and great landscape material.

The composition took some time to plan. Of course I didn't want a mid break in the surface either horizontally or vertically. Ideally I wanted some uniformity in the dogs head positions and certain dogs were to be primary in the painting while others were not.

A larger image of the painting is on my website under the dog art gallery specifically the german shorthaired pointer page.

Have a great day!

Siamese Kitten - Lacey Secord

This is our new kitten, Lacey. She is eight weeks old and is called a "Lynx Point" Siamese. This is actually a breed in Great Britain, but in America it is simply a color variation of the Siamese cat. The Lynx Point color was established by breeding a Siamese with a Tabby. With Lacey, she has the classic tabby markings which are circular rather than striped.

Lacey was adopted through "Cats in Need" a local cat rescue organization. She was pulled out of a local animal shelter, along with her brother, by this rescue organization. One of my friends ended up adopting her orange tabby brother when she went to visit Lacey at the foster home with me!!

I'm looking forward to using Lacey as a model in my future paintings! To see some of my current cat paintings please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/ and click on the cat art gallery.

Have a great day!

Pug Portrait is Finished

Pugsley is finished! Pugsley, the Pug, was so much fun to paint. He is always sitting in the garden surrounded by flowers so Pug's owners wanted his portrait to include an atmosphere of him being outside with a few flowers. I didn't want the flowers to become a focal point so I had a hint of pink behind him with just a few flowers loosely implied in front of him.

The upper part of the composition is light to be in contrast with his dark mask. The lower part of the composition is dark to have a contrast with his light fawn coloring.

Thank you for taking a peek at my work.

I will be putting a larger image of this painting on my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/pug.html. The painting may not be up for a few days - so please check back if the link doesn't work.

Have a great day!

Dawn Secord

http://www.dawnsecord.com/

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

Pug Portrait in Process

This is Pugsley and his portrait is in process. He is a therapy dog and just an awesome all around companion. He lives in Southern California and I had the delightful experience of meeting him when taking photos of him for his portrait.

He had recently had cataract surgery so most of the photos we took of him were in the shade to keep his eyes comfortable.

In the primary reference pose he is leaning towards the left. His expression in that particular photo was fabulous - we all agreed it was a wonderful photo to base his portrait upon. For the portrait I sketched him with his legs straight under him eliminating the leaning to the left which had made his left shoulder look a bit odd.

He is just as sweet as he looks!!

Dawn's Etzy Store

Well, I took the plunge and created an on line store. (Actually - this was done by my husband, Rich and this is his project.) The store is hosted by the website "Etsy". This site specializes in hand made items such as art.

If you are interested in visiting our new store the address is:

http://www.monetsecord.etsy.com/

We were having a little fun and set the site up under our dog, Monet. Don't ya just love the internet!

If you have a moment drop me an email and tell me what you think!!
fff@linkline.com

Jewel in the Art Booth

Jewel is always in my art booth. She is retired from the show ring and currently a therapy dog. For the most part - I take her everywhere.

This is her convertible and how most people see her when she is at the shows with me. What else can I say about Jewel - she is the apple of my eye - my constant companion and the biggest food stealer in the house!!

Irish Setter Puppy "Wanna Play"

This is the fourth and final puppy painting for my upcoming exhibit at the Pinnell Gallery.

The painting's model is an Irish Setter puppy who runs our home and is in charge of all the toy inventory. Monet was about four months old when I took this photo of her on our patio. It was late afternoon and the sun was shining on her at an angle. The shadows cast by the setting sun on this feisty puppy were amazing. It has been two years since I took that photo. I knew it would be a perfect painting some day and that day has come.

Monet's slogan for life is "Wanna Play". She is always up - always happy and always stealing toys. Actually, I "toyed" with the idea of naming the painting "Mine".

If you live in Southern California I would love to see you at the exhibit. Here is the information: Pinnell Gallery, 124 N. Main Street, Fallbrook, CA 92028. Phone: 760-728-8870.