This is the second page of blobs that I worked on in the train last Friday. In this case, I was deliberately turning them all into dogs. I think that if I draw enough blob dogs, one of them will begin to emerge as a repeating character who could star in his own world. The nature of blobs is that none do exactly repeat themselves… they are new and special in their own blobby way, but there are recognisable types and that is enough for my purposes.
Only about half of the blobs on this page were in a state worth posting. Two were accidentally sacrificed on the McCrae Beach on Saturday as I tried to colour them with borrowed art materials and sea water. The results were worse than you are imagining now.
Yes, they were.
As far as repeating types go, one thing is apparent already. I have a fondness for whiskers.
This is Angelina the Bearded Lady. (Miniature Schnauzer) She has been looking for circus work for a while, but so far has only been offered work as a rat catcher.
This is Hamish. (Border Terrier x Dandie Dinmont Terrier) Hamish is going to let the chickens out on a blustery spring morning. He never chases them, because he knows they don’t like it. HIs favourite hen is a Light Sussex named Leonora Carrington.
This is Toby. (mostly Foxhound but his great grandmother was a Poodle) He’s a country dog. He left the foxhound pack when the others made fun of his moustache. Now he wanders the hedgerows and picks up a bit of work here and there. He is courteous to passing foxes, and they are sometimes courteous to him.
This is Theo. (Wire-haired Fox Terrier) Theo is in a hurry to pull on his coat as he has to pick up the kids from puppy school. There are 14 in the litter so he is taking a truck.
This is Gabriel. (Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier x English Pointer) Gabriel runs a delicatessen, and is renowned locally for his skill with making tarts. Once a fortnight he goes fishing and takes a picnic lunch with him which is made by his partner Phil. He enjoys taking a little time off cooking on those days. But if he catches a fish, he returns home with renewed vigour and invents a new fish dish every time. All of them are simply delicious. 
This is Phil. (Irish Water Spaniel) Phil lives with Gabriel and is an indifferent cook as he gets very little practice. However he is a keen gardener and drives a lorry during the week. He’s also a bird fancier, but sometimes when he is watching birds too closely he has an irresistible urge to yap, which he finds mortifying. 
This is Madison. (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Cardigan Welsh Corgi) Madison lost her tail in an accident when she was only 3 months old, but she is wagging on the inside. 
This is Adrian (Scottish Terrier) Adrian loves listening to Jazz FM on his new radio and has been known to bite the vet. 
This is Jean-Paul. (Irish Wolfhound x Cairn Terrier. His parents separated due to irreconcilable differences.) You needn’t be alarmed for Jean-Paul because he is demonstrating for 25 young pups at puppy swim school, and is not really in any danger as long as he stays in the water. 
This is one of the puppies at Swim School. I can’t remember his name. He has just smelled a fart and is checking to see if it is his.
endpapers 
I needed these to cheer me up! G’s just discovered the scrape on the car, and I thought I had got away with it! Anyway, these would make lovely cards, or maybe you have thought of that already? The pics plus their captions are so original, I’d love to send one as a birthday or whatever card, so I’m sure others would. Yours with grateful laughter, Liz
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Hi Liz, I’m so glad I cheered you up! I scraped our car just after we bought it recently… it would be more accurate to say that I got myself into a position where somebody else scraped it, but either way, I got myself into a scrape so I know how it feels. I hadn’t thought of cards, and not sure how I’d go about that, but I should probably look into anything that might bring in some income. Besides the scraped car, there are other expenses too. Give G a glass of wine and I hope laughter returns to the house swiftly. x
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Thanks, a few glasses of of wine later, I’m forgiven! You could try just a few to see how the market is : I print an A5 pic onto an A4 sheet with my own printer, stamp the back of the card with my website etc, then get them printed at the local colour copy shop ( the ink is fixed, unlike my home printer , which is not waterproof) fold them, get some envelopes and special cellophane wrappers. I sell them when I exhibit, also I have a few local shops that are eager to take them. The return is quite good on materials, (not time, but then I never count that!) if you find it takes off, you could get them printed professionally, the return would be much better. I think you would get swarms of interested buyers!
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Thanks for that energetic and practical response Liz! So great to get a how-to from somebody who’s already done something.
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These made me crack up laughing. Forget the cards, I want the BOOK! I think it very sweet that Gabriel lives with Phil. Bang on politically/socially correct and inclusive.
I’m worrying about Angelina. I think she needs some mentoring on self-regard issues. She’s beautiful AND cute!
Liz, so sorry to hear about the scrape. I knocked a whole chunk off our new second-hand car the week we got it. Wine helps get things in perspective! (-;
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Thanks for commiserations on said scrape, although I do not think G would describe it as such, as it was underneath the car and dented the exhaust badly, it just missed slashing all the hydraulic pipes by a millimeter , being a citroen that would have been disaster. Hey it’s nice to meet you here Clive , chez Judy. I do hope you , Judy, don’t mind!! Actually , Clive’s right: they would make a wonderful book or books, there are loads of stories there. They certainly make me chuckle! I keep coming back to look at them, they are such characters !
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Oh don’t mind me. I’ll open the wine and you two can chat ;-) Pity we can’t be in the same room but on the other hand ain’t the Internet great? Pass me another olive will you?
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Actually, probably breakfast time in your world. We are at the checkers by the fire stage here.
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