Over a year ago a book came out written by well-known
author, Marsha Hall Brown (retired AKC dog judge), and illustrated by me (the
new illustrations - there are historical illustrations and paintings in the book
as well). The title is Under Sun, Stars and Sails. The cover
illustration is one of my pieces. With
the craziness of the past almost 2 years, the publicity for the book was impacted. The book is an amazing historical story. I am so glad efforts are underway to proceed
with the publicity of the book.
The illustration process was more than fascinating. I created several maps, pencil
illustrations, pastel illustrations as well as the cover painting. The book follows a sea captain, Joseph
Marshall who was a master mariner, and his family from 1851 thru 1861 on their voyage
at sea from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Mind you, at that time, there was no Panama
Canal. Their voyage took them ashore too. Their trek across the Isthmus of Panama was
by train and mule. The research required
to create the illustrations and maps was a journey in and of itself. I also worked from photos of artifacts and of
individuals. It was an honor to work on
a project with Mrs. Brown again. She
is a wealth of information. She is
humble about her background, not only in dogs but as a descendant of the
founding families of Nantucket. Did you
know Macy’s founders were from Nantucket?
Nantucket played such a tremendous role in the 1800s whaling
industry. The book is a must read for American
history buffs. The book is filled with actual
photos and inserts of historical letters.
It is a must read for those wanting to experience a true-life adventure.
Mrs. Brown just released a captivating book trailer for Under
Sun Stars and Sails that I am more than proud to share. Under Sun, Stars and Sails was
published by Spinner Publications, Inc. of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
To see the trailer, click on the following link:
To order the book, click on the following link:
http://www.spinnerpub.com/Under_Sun_Stars_and_Sails.html
Mia is an Irish Setter I had long admired on Facebook. She was a beautiful dog. Everything about her was lovely.
The time came when Mia passed. It was heartbreaking news for those who knew and loved her.
When her owner contacted me to paint her, I was thrilled. It is always such an honor to paint someone's special animal. This was no exception.
Do you have little children who love hearing bedtime stories? I am starting a story time video series on my dog, Bling's Utube channel. Here is our first video, Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein. If you haven't read the story to your children or grandchildren, you all are in for a treat. If you just want a distraction for you little ones for a few minutes, this video might be exactly what you need. Interrupting Chicken is a fun and clever story with amazing illustrations. Please consider subscribing to Bling's Utube channel so you don't miss our next video. Hugs and Wags, Dawn Secord and Bling
To get Bling's picture book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here, go to her website at aDogBling.com
#adogbling, #storytime, #childrensliterature,#childrensbooks, #bedtimestory, #NoGhoulishGreenMonstersHere
This is a painting of Billy. He is formally known as CH Bellary Ride Cowboy Ride BN, RI, SWN, CGC, TKN, ATT.
I've known him since he was a pup and painted a mini painting of him at that time. Now it is ...gosh....5 years later and that pup has grown into a beautiful dog. I was thrilled to be able to paint him again. With this painting we used a photo his owner had taken. It was a lovely pose of him. The only draw back was the lighting. The lighting made the darker areas too dark and the lighter areas too light. To get the proper coloring, I relied on a number of other photos. There was one photo where his owner held his ear in her hand so I could see the coloring compared to the skin tone of a person. My goal is never to copy a photo. The photo is only the roadmap to keep the likeness to that specific animal accurate. My job as an artist is to create something special.
My art has opened up the opportunity to get to know so many people and I am blessed to be able to call them friends. When I paint landscapes or wildlife (etc) the paintings are not as personal. When I am painting someone's beloved animal
Thank you to Rita for having me paint her boy. It is always an honor.
This is a painting of Clooney. His owner described him below as the very best dog in the world. Isn't that how we all feel about our beloved dogs? Isn't that what we want for each dog - to know that dog is thought of as the very best dog in the world? Clooney was a wonderful dog and had a wonderful life. I can vouch, to his family, he was undoubtedly the very best dog in the world.
I remember the first time I saw a photo of baby Clooney like it was yesterday. What I remember was seeing a stacked photo of this pup in front of a gorgeous boat. All I saw was the most breathtaking puppy ever. Here we are years later and I've had the honor to paint him. I've asked his owner to share a little bit about Clooney. Following is her story about Clooney:
Clooney went on his first boating vacation at the tender age of 10
weeks. It was so rough crossing the
Straits into Canada that I donned my life jacket and sat on the salon floor
with him while Patrick took the helm and shook his fist at Mother Nature. Cloo slept through it all. I remember cautioning Patrick, “You don’t
spit into the wind and you don’t let the puppy walk on the inflated tubes of
the skiff when you’re underway unless you’re prepared to go in after him.” PJ’s wallet and its contents spent the awhile
spread out on the dining table – drying.
Cloo blossomed into a lovely adult who finished his Championship
quickly and easily. Peter Kubacz handled
him to his first huge win, a BOS at the 2010 National. There is simply no way to describe what it was
like to be having Thanksgiving Day dinner with the family the following
November, celebrating our 43rd Anniversary and watching our dog go
Best In Show on national TV! Peter took
Cloo to #1 All-Breed points, #2 Breed points in 2011.
That following spring we moved to a waterfront home and it was
perfect except for one thing - It was time to bring Clooney home to enjoy it
with us. Cloo spent the ensuing years
working with our son, Michael in the field, trialing with me in Obedience and
Rally, running the beaches, swimming, boating and riding around in the skiff
with Patrick. We were fortunate to have
him in excellent health to the end. Sometimes
I would hide so Cloo had to find me, then he would trot away ahead of me, down
the long hallway to the cookie jar in the kitchen. It always made me smile as I watched him
going away – dead true to the last. How
I wish I could follow him down the hall one more time and tell him again that he
was the very best dog in the whole world!
Where do I begin? I guess it starts back when I was showing Monet (GCH Rusticwood Spellbound CGC) - Bling's mama dog. Monet was gorgeous. She just didn't enjoy showing. At one show in Palm Springs, a well known judge (whom I'd never shown to before) said to me quietly, "She is gorgeous, can you get her to move out for me?" I shook my head no. "Not today," I replied. I understood Monet and loved her with every breath I had. I loved her independence. I laughed at her "I only do what I want" attitude. I shrugged my shoulders the time she was excused from the ring when she tried to fake limping. She was a smart dog; as beautiful as the day was long. She was one unique and special girl.
Back to my story....I was showing Monet at a specialty at the Irish Setter Club of Southern California's summer show. In our class, standing behind us, was a woman with the most fabulous mane of blonde hair and a beautiful Irish Setter named Maggie. I thought to myself, that is a beautiful dog. I am not sure we can defeat her in this show. If Monet wanted to show, we had a chance. What caught my attention the most was how much fun Maggie was having - how much she loved her mom. They were a special team with a special bond. Years later, the two were standing in my front yard so I could photograph Maggie for her painting.
On that day, taking the pictures, the vibrant Maggie with a white speckled sugar face still looked up at her mom glowing. We were laughing and having a grand time taking the photos. Maggie was healthy given her age. Both her mom and I knew that her days were fleeting as time will rob us of memories the future could hold. They say with an Irish Setter, or any large dog for that matter, any time past their 10th year is a gift. We were in Maggie's gift time.
Maggie would pass a year later. We sat outside the home while the vet went inside to help Maggie on to rest. We were there for Maggie's mom. After Maggie passed, it took Maggie's mom a few years to be able to look at the photos again for the painting. There was no rush. It would happen when the time was right. A few months ago it was time. We had gone through the photos while Maggie was still with us and made notes of favorites. When it came time to choose the primary reference photo, though there were many wonderful candidates, one jumped out. The one that jumped out was Maggie looking up at her mom...that look of love I'd seen so many years ago when Maggie and Monet were youngsters.
I hope Maggie and Monet are once again young; I hope they are jumping around chasing butterflies and waiting for their moms to play with them again when those days come. You see our love for our dogs never dies. Our love is always in our hearts and when we close our eyes, we see those priceless memories that will keep us together until we meet at the rainbow bridge.
It is always so special when an existing art collector returns for another painting. I have painted for her twice and now, Tallie is the third dog painted.
Here is joyful and rollicking Tallie; the ever smart and obedient girl who is filled with love...and who is forever giving kisses. I hope you enjoy viewing the painting as much as I enjoyed painting her. Thank you to Julia for the honor of painting your special girl.
This is a painting of Lucy and her two pups, Kate and Emmy (who are from Lucy's two litters).
Lucy and my Monet were similar in age and were shown against each other in the dog show ring. The girls knew each other. Both Lucy and Monet are now gone as difficult as that is to comprehend.
Lucy's first litter produced Kate. Kate and my girl, Baby Faith, were two months apart in age and were shown against each other and knew each other. Gosh - the girls are 11 years old now. Time is a vapor.
Emmy is from Lucy's second litter. Emmy is almost a year younger than my Bling. And yes, they showed against each other, stayed in hotels together and went on many walks together. Emmy and Bling look so much alike that Emmy's owner once took Bling for a long walk in Palm Springs thinking he had Emmy. Imagine my fright when I found Bling's crate empty.... Bling had a long walk and I had to take a tranquilizer. (not really but I do stress when my girls are out of my sight).... We all had a good laugh. Bling is days away from turning 9 and Emmy is 8.
It is nice to know the dogs that I paint. The interesting thing though is that I truly get to know the dogs I am painting if I don't know them beforehand. The owners or family members who have commissioned the art tell me stories about the dogs that helps me get to know the dog (or other pets) that I am painting. I know if the animal was bold, sensitive, quiet, outgoing and that information goes into my painting. The painting process allows me to gaze into their eyes for many hours. The relationship is formed and by the time the painting is completed, I know the pet I have just painted.
I hope you gave enjoyed the little walk down memory lane. As said earlier, time is but a vapor. Our pets come into our lives and though they are never with us long enough (no matter how long that is) they leave their pawprints on our hearts.
Hi Friends,
I have finally finished a project that I've been working on for some time - a studio tour of my new studio. The video is on my Utube channel. The channel address is Utube Bling Secord and I hope you will subscribe to it.
My goal with the Utube channel is to be more active with video logs of me providing art demonstrations, paintings in progress and recording book readings with Bling at libraries. Lots of fun stuff! Below is the link to my studio tour video. It is 11 minutes long. You may want to pause it and return if you don't have time to watch all at one time. Warmly, Dawn Secord
