DawnSecord

Dawn was raised in Texas and enjoyed spending time with her dogs, cats, rabbit and horse. When not outside with her pets, she would be inside drawing and painting animals.

In highschool, Dawn outgrew the art classes offered there. The school staff allowed her to create her own self study classes and gave her a key to the art department. Her paintings hung in the school trophy case as well as the main office. After highschool, Dawn had two art scholarship offers. Pressures led her to pursue an education in finance. Though she worked in the corporate world for many years, Dawn was continuously accepting painting commissions. Evenings and weekends Dawn would be in front of a canvas painting pet portraits, landscapes and seascapes.

In 1996 Dawn left the corporate world to dedicate her time to painting. She started a pet sitting business - with the goal that she needed a business that was flexible enough to allow her to be able to pursue her passion in art and be able to paint full time. It was a logical choice considering Dawn's love of animals.

For many years, Dawn's commissioned pieces were oil paintings. A chance meeting with a pastelist would introduce her to the beauty of pastels. Pastels allow her to achieve the look and feel of realism that bring her portraits to life. She loves the quality and detail the pastels allow her to create as she endeavors to capture her subject's personality. Dawn especially enjoys painting the animal's eyes.

Some of Dawn's achievements include being the Grand Prize Winner for the American Kennel Club's 2003 art contest. Her artwork is the inaugrual piece for a new series of art published by the American Kennel Club. She was also a finalist out of over 13,000 entries in the 2003 Artists Magazine contest. Her work has been featured on a number of magazine covers - including the January 2004 issue of the American Kennel Club "Gazette" and several issues of Pet Sitters International "The World of Professional Pet Sitting". Dawn is represented by the Pinnell Gallery in Southern Caifornia as well as three on-line galleries, she is a signature member of the Pastel Society of Amerca, is a member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast and is an artist registered with the American Kennel Club's Museum of the Dog. She is an internationally collected artist.

In her spare time, Dawn shows her dogs. She has put American Kennel Club titles on all of her dogs. She has shown the youngest of the three to a Best in Show, Best in Specialty Show and Best of Opposite Sex at the 2003 AKC/Eukanuba National Championship - a premier show of dog shows with entries being by invitation only. Dawn has served on the Board of Directors for the Irish Setter Club of Southern California holding the position of president for two terms. She is also a professional member of the Cat Writers' Association and the Dog Writers' Association of America.

Dawn currently lives in Southern California with her husband, Rich, some rollicking Irish Setters, some feisty cats and a variety of other critters.