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/.

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/

German Shepherd Puppy

This painting is the first in my puppy series being specifically created for my exhibit in May at the Pinnell Gallery - Art of the Dog.

I was at a dog show last year and a lady walked past our motor home with this three month old German Shepherd puppy. His movement was spectacular. Love to watch the Shepherds! Once my eyes stopped staring - my mind said - photograph this puppy. So, I ran after the lady, explained I was an artist and asked for permission to photograph her puppy. She was very kind and had a litter mate that she also brought out so we could photograph the puppies playing.

This painting is not yet titled but will be for sale through the gallery. If you are interested in purchasing the painting before the show - please contact me at my email fff@linkline.com or my toll free studio number is 866-393-7111.

This painting may be coming out in print. If you are interested in signing up for a print please email me at fff@linkline.com.

To view more of my work please visit my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Thanks for taking a peek at my work! Have a great day.

Monet - Rusticwood Spellbound

Monet just received her third point towards her AKC (American Kennel Club) conformation championship. Monet is our third show Irish Setter - but not our third Irish Setter.

Her aunt is Jewel - my heart dog. Actually, that is the reason we wanted Monet. She was our little piece of Jewel since we never bred Jewel.

Coincidentally - Jewel had her third point when she was 27 months old - and Monet is 27 months old. Monet (Rusticwood Spellbound) has also won a Puppy Best in Show and a Best in Sweepstakes. She is a wonderful girl and we are thankful everyday she is in our home. She is an extreme dog - extremely smart - extremely good - extremely naughty and extremely nice.

In the near future she will be featured in one of my paintings. To see my artwork please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Have a great day!

Jewel - BIS BISS Ch Rendition Treasured Moment

Jewel, my heart and soul dog, turned ten years old today.

I remember her coming home a tiny puppy just like it happened yesterday. Where are the years going?

Jewel is my constant companion, my Velcro dog. She watches my every move - sometimes so she can stay close to me and sometimes so she can know when is the perfect time to sneak into the pantry and steal treats. She is such an Irish Setter - loaded with that "rollicking personality"!

Happy Birthday Jewel - you are simply my wonder dog. To see a crazy amount of photos of Jewel please go to my website - the main gallery page and scroll down to the bottom and click on the button that says "Dog Show Photos"!

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!

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.

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.

Bodhi - Irish Setter

This is the second painting I've done of Bodhi, an Irish Setter. The first painting I did of him was several years ago and he was jumping through an agility ring.

This painting was a head portrait. I photographed Bodhi during the Irish Setter National Specialty in Arizona. His owner thought it would be fun to put the red rocks of Arizona behind him.

Bodhi is a very special dog and it has been an honor to get to know him, his owner and paint him in two different settings.

To view more of my work please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/. Have a great day!

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!

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

English Setter "Waiting In The Wing"

This pastel painting of English Setter puppies and is titled "Waiting In The Wing". The painting was created specifically for the English Setter Club of America National specialty.

A lot of research went into the painting and I thank all those for their assistance. The reference photos were old and the puppies were gazing downward. The puppies were in different photos looking different directions. I opened up the eyes and had the puppies gazing forward.

At first I thought of putting some object in the painting to give the viewer an idea of what the puppies were looking at. Then, on second thought, it seemed more fun to leave the audience guessing at what was the center of the pups' interest.

The original of this painting is available as well as limited edition prints. To purchase the original or the prints please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/.

Thank you for taking a peek at my work and I wish you a great day!

Dawn Secord

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

Irish Setter and Cowboy Boots

"Boots 'n Boys" is a pastel painting of an Irish Setter by artist, Dawn Secord.

This is a pastel painting of Luc, an Irish Setter. His human mom sent me a photo of him laying on his father's lap. Instantly I was drawn to the jeans and cowboy boots. Being from Texas - this scene just melted my heart.

The lines of light that are being cast from the blinds gave an interesting feeling to the composition. In the photo the lines of light were also across Luc's face. With artist liberty I chose not to include those as they took away from this gentle boy's expression.

This painting is available on greeting cards. To purchase please click here!

To see more of my work please go to my website at http://www.dawnsecord.com/. As always - thankyou for looking!

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/