No Need to Beware of the Blob! Blob Drawing is Pretty Fun.

More like a treasure hunt than a psychological assessment, discovering images within random blobs or scribbles feels more delightful than many kinds of sketching.  It provides a good break if you find yourself frustrated with your work.  And when the drawing blahs strike (and they strike all of us at one time or another) and you think there is just no point to continuing to scribble in your sketchbook, try blobbing and then discovering what's there.

Since you have already made the mess, there's nothing to fuss about.  It's just pure fun.

I spilled some ink the other day and in wiping it up, I made quite a mess on a sketchbook page.  But after it dried, I went searching for the images, and here is what I found.

These three folks don't go together, which I figure is just fine when I look for pictures in blobs.  They don't need to. Sometimes my blob findings aren't even all oriented to the same up and down!

Jonathan Twingley (whose super interesting stuff you can check out here) recommends splotting some ink on a journal page, then closing the book.  You get mirrored blobs on two facing pages.  You can try to make related scribbles.  Or not.  Up to you!  It's all just a creative game.  Here is an example of two facing journal pages I recently did this way.

For me this process feels like magic.  I can't explain it very well, other than to say, I stare at the blob and wait for whatever is there to rise up from the depths.  It's kind of like something floating to the top of water.  

Almost every time, I think of the scene from the film Excalibur, where the Lady of the Lake rises from the depths to give young Arthur the sword of power, Excalibur.  

Not that my blob scribbles are Excalibur--but it does feel pretty cool when something you were not planning just shows up and a picture appears!

Another artist who does fine and fun work with blobs is Carla Sonheim whose work you can check out here.  She does a lot with what she calls "the art of silliness."

Hope this gives you some fun when you're feeling the drawing blahs.  Or when you just need a warm-up. 

Give it a try with some kids some time too!