Friday, May 25, 2007

IF: Dogs and Cars


What is it with dogs and cars? Some hate them because they get car sick, or perhaps the only time they ride in the car is to go to the vet. Other dogs just have to hear the slightest jingle of keys and they're off like a shot waiting in the car for you, smoking a cigarette, elbow propped on the window and that "what took ya so long" look on their faces.

My dog Emma knows that a car ride most likely means going to the beach. She sits in her little booster seat (so she can see out the window), safely strapped in riding shotgun with Mum while hubby is relegated to the back seat. My husband thinks I have my priorities mixed up. Emma thinks life is good as long as we're together. That's my girl!


watercolor, pen and ink. Wasn't loving the topic, but hope I rose to the challenge :)

57 comments:

  1. Our dog Nikki always want to go until she gets in the car and starts to worry about where we're going:) Cute illo as always...

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  2. great work. my dog loves going for a ride in the car, actually if there is a car door open she will jump in...i've had to coax her out of someone else's car!!! :) she has gotten car sick before, but as long as the window is cracked she is all good...when i moved to nyc from chicago...she sat in my lap the entire way!:)

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  3. That's a great little dog!

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  4. Lovely! Love your stories, Laurel!

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  5. great! love the simplicity of the drawing, works well with the smart point of view. nice interpretation.

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  6. i adore this! that is the exact phrase i use with my dog Rat! It's become one word and you can substitute walk any time too!

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  7. hehehe.... this is so cute!
    :)

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  8. had one just like that. i like this illustration a lot.

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  9. I wasn't really liking the topic either because I am horrible at drawing cars. I too thought of Sully's wet nose on the backseat window for my illustration. Emma is so cute with her reaction.

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  10. Hi Laurel! Thanks so much for stopping by with all your good wishes for my show...I sooo appreciate it! This is a perfect illustration. It totally reminds me of our dog who thinks nothing of just jumping into any car that has an open door or trunk. It can get annoying since she's a big German shepherd! But she just loves the car:> Your painting below is absolutely gorgeous... it's something I could stare at for hours and feel transported to a peaceful place.

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  11. You know, if you have a passenger air bag in your car, both hubby and dog might be safer if they traded places.

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  12. I like that the image told the story before you did. Then, I got the BIGGEST kick out of the ride to the beach with hubby in the back seat! LMAO!!! :D

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  13. what a great story! what a great dog and what a great husband! made me laugh!

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  14. Reminds me of my goofy pup, too. Very cute!

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  15. Ha! Great take and a wonderful illo! Smart way to avoid having to draw a car. ;)

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  16. Cute dog! I'm loving her expression...is she a little excited? :)

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  17. wonderful illo!you made me smile with your story! emma is cool and so with your hubby!

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  18. very nice illo! I like the composition and the clear and delicate colouring...funny writing, also.

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  19. This is adorable, trying to imagine her in a booster seast is making me smile!

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  20. Emma's right! Life is goood when you go to the beach with the family!!! And when one can see such a nice illustration!

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  21. Isn't amazing how dogs can tell one car sound from another. Our puggish dog, Cagney, runs to the door at the first sound of my husband's car down the block. --Thanks for visiting.

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  22. Yikes, In the previous post, I meant to write: Isn't it amazing....?

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  23. I can only laugh when I read this. Great illo and fun entry for Cars.

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  24. Great idea and nicely done. Yes, dogs and cars go together quite nicely... Except for Queensland healer/Aussie shepherd mix I had years ago... she loved the idea of a ride but got terribly carsick every time we went more than 5 miles.

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  25. Thanks for your comments... I was frustrated and did make some changes but your comments inspired me to stay with my initial idea... so they were greatly appreciated!...

    This is a sweet piece..and a great story. My dog hides... he is scared of engines.. and cant see very well....

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  26. Cute illo and story! (I have a cat who LOVES the car ... isn't that weird?).

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  27. Great image and idea, especially with such a difficult theme.

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  28. Dogs are a lot smarter then they get credit for. They either enjoy with eirde, or know that cars can just be big money pits. Smart buggers.

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  29. So cute - and I love the story with it (your hubby rides in the back? LOL!) My dog HAD to ride in the back as he was huge - I think he would have preferred the front...

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  30. Cool! I like the fact that there is no car in your drawing. Nice job on the crosshatching!

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  31. Tee hee hee! That's the same reaction we get from our pooch when its a ride or a walk :-)

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  32. haha yes! I just found out about this fact about dogs when I went to visit my parents- the dog dashes to the drivers seat and he's so happy to be there!

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  33. Ah...dogs and cars. My best buddy dog, Morgan (Dobie), loved riding in the car, and I took him everywhere I could, as long as I didn't have to leave him in the car. My current dog, Copper, doesn't like to ride...she's too nervous. Actually, she's afraid of just about everything (lab/sheperd). You did a great job with the word, Lolie, even though it was a tough one. And I love how you get the cross-hatching in so much of your work...just like Bampa did. ;~)

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  34. i mremember growing up, we had a black lab who used to jump in the mailman's cart...and he'd take her for a drive for about a block or two.

    she also used to try and jump onto the buses that took us to school...but none of the busdrivers would let her.

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  35. i love the movement in the second frame. hilarious. shot straight up, and ain't it the truth?

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  36. thanks for visiting and your comments! a quick sketch, usually out of the norm...

    great work...you've definitely captured the dogs excitement!

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  37. Hey Laurel, this is so much fun! I love the colors you chose for this and Emma's expression, it cracked me up ;) Sadly, I'm back from Baja and struggling with the reality of work....have a good week!

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  38. lol I already love Emma. It happens the opposite to my cat, Fito. I guess he knows that after a car, it cames the vet ;)

    Lovely, Laurel!

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  39. Thanks for the well wishes! Moving IS stressful. So funny. I thought of CARS and I thought dogs immediately. See, dog moms think alike.:)

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  40. Ha ha--looks like the pooch sure rose to the challenge. I too was not at all digging this topic but went all out with it as a result. Anyhow, love the humor and cartoon style here. It reminds me of how my family dog loved it when we said we were going "bye bye car car"--embarrassing but true. :)

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  41. Great idea! Yeah, what is that about!? My dog use to try to get into the mailmans car when he'd sometimes come up the driveway to deliver something. It is one of their many charming qualities but that is kinda an odd mania.

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  42. Laurel, this is so cute and funny! I love the contrast between Emma's poses in the pictures

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  43. They DO love cars, don't they..? I love your excited dog. It always makes me laugh when I see a dog hanging out of a car window... they look so happy and pleased with themselves and the world!

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  44. Ah! :-) :-) This made me laugh! The dog is just so animated! A jumping bean.

    Thanks for the bright spot on my day!

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  45. lol this reminds me of the dog i had as a kid everytime we left the house he'd be ready to go bouncing off the walls it seemed.

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  46. Laurel, me encanta este perrito. Es simple y delicado. Bellisimo!!!!!

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  47. what a funny little illustration!

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  48. This is so adorable! I love your drawing!

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  49. my daughter also react the same.... hahaha!

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  50. I love this..my favourite..the dog's expression to go out.. it's priceless..simple adorable and very nice!

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