Dawn Secord
Artist Biography
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Dawn in front of her oil painting "Nature's Alarm Clock".
The painting is being shown at the "Art Meets Floral 2021" exhibit at the Craig-Heard Center of the Arts in historic McKinney, Texas. September 2021
Dawn finishing an acrylic painting in preparation for her first exhibit: May 1980
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil 2:10-11
Dawn finishing painting during a timed quick draw event at an art show 2018.
The goal with any paintings is not to copy the photo. The goal is to use a photo as reference material and create something that truly engages the viewer.
Dawn was raised in Texas and enjoyed spending time with her dogs, cats, horse and critters. When not outside with her pets, she would be inside drawing and painting animals.
In high school she was given a key to the art department and allowed to create her own self study courses. Her work hung in the school trophy case as well as the school’s main office. Dawn had several art scholarship offers but decided to pursue an education in finance. She paints western art, landscapes, seascapes, and still life but her passion is painting animals.
In 1996 she left the corporate world to pursue a career as a fine artist. Her favorite mediums are oil and pastel. With oils, she enjoys a painterly approach. With pastels, she pursues photorealism. She loves the quality and detail pastels allow her to capture when working on animal paintings. Dawn’s work is known for the emotion captured in the animal’s eyes.
Dawn is an award winning internationally collected artist. She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the Pastel Society of the Southwest and is an artist registered with the AKC Museum of the Dog. Her paintings have won many awards, have been juried in numerous exhibits, and have been awarded several Best in Shows. Dawn’s work has been on magazine covers and as featured stories in national art, business and animal publications such as The Pastel Journal, The Canine Chronicle, The Western Art Collector, North Lights Book Magazine, the Irish Setter Club of America’s Memo to Members, Borzoi International and The American Kennel Club’s Gazette. More information is listed on the "In The News" page of this website.
In addition to her own children's book series, Dawn illustrates for others. To see her illustrative work, go to the Illustrations tab of this website.
In her spare time, Dawn shows her dogs competitively. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Irish Setter Club of America and belongs to several other dog related clubs.
Dawn lives in Texas with her husband, Rich, their rollicking Irish Setters, some pampered cats, a lively cockatiel, a small flock of awesome fluffy chickens and a few rowdy roosters.
Memberships and Affiliations:
*Pastel Society of America - Signature Member
*Pastel Society of the Southwest - Member
*AKC - Museum of the Dog - Registered Artist
*Cat Writers Association of America - Professional Member
*Dog Writers Association of America - Professional Member
*Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
*Pet Sitters International - Life Time Member, Pet Sitter of the Year 2003
Board Member- Irish Setter Club of America
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VoyageDallas Magazine Interview:
Writer's Digest Guest Post - journey to self publishing
https://www.writersdigest.com/getting-published/lessons-learned-from-self-publishing-my-picture-book
email: Dawn SecordArtist@gmail.com
Dawn working on an oil painting -
plein air Laguna Beach, California January 2010
All artwork on this site is copyright Dawn Secord 2026
and can not be copied or used without the written consent of the artist.
