Dawn Secord

Dawn Secord is an internationally collected artist and an award winning illustrator / author. 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 or reading.

Her first authored and illustrated children's picture book "No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here" which features her dog, Bling an "Irish Setter" has received 8 awards:

AWARDS:

• Awarded "Silver Award" by Mom's Choice Awards

• Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)  July 2021 reading list

• Finalist - International Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest

• 2021 Winner - Animal and Pets category, Pinnacle Book Achievement Award NABE (National Association of Book

Entrepreneurs)

• 2021 Children's Picture Book Award - 2nd Place, North Texas Book Festival

• 2021-2022 Reader Views Literary Awards Winner-Sponsored/Specialty award-The Feathered Quill Be Kind to Animals Award

• 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Finalist - Children's Picture Book Illustration (Best Illustrator)

• 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - Finalist - Best Overall Design (Fiction)

Dawn's background - In high school she was given a key to the art department and allowed to create her own self study courses. Dawn had several art scholarship offers but decided to pursue an education in finance. Little did she know that her finance and marketing background would be an incredible asset when she became a professional artist. She paints western art, landscapes, still life and 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 loose 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.

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. Recent cover work includes the January 1, 2017 issue of The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the August 2022 issue of The Irish Setter Club of America—Memo to Members.

Dawn illustrated a children’s book titled Show Dogs Escape to the Seashore with retired American Kennel Club judge, Marsha Hall Brown. She has illustrated a historical book, Under Sun, Stars and Sails, for this same author in 2019. She has recently completed writing and illustrating her own children’s picture book, No Ghoulish Green Monsters Here, which features her Irish Setter, Bling, as the main character. The book was released in Spring 2021. She has just finished writing and illustrating an educational coloring book for children of all ages titled Sit, Stay, and Color with a dog, Bling which was released in June of 2022. She is in the final stages of illustrating a children's book for an author about a puppy named Diamond. Dawn has won a number of national awards for her illustrations.

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. She actively supports rescue (dogs, cats and bunnies). Two rescue cats, Lacey and Smudge, and a feisty blue point Siamese cat Named Rembrandt Blue share her home.

Dawn lives in Texas with her husband on a hobby farm with their rollicking Irish Setters, some pampered cats, a lively cockatiel, a small flock of awesome fluffy chickens and a rooster named Red Fabio.