Monthly Archives: January 2018

This is an unusual coloring book of fairy designs. The fairies are quite lovely but what is unusual is the use of heavy bold lines and the many dots that make up the shading on each of the designs. It gives the illustration the look of pointillism which is quite different from other books that I have. The results is not only unusual and interest but also quite beautiful as well.

The designs are detailed and some of the designs have intricate and small areas to color. I do suggest the use of a liquid blender with these designs as the heavy black lines and the dots have a tendency (due to the thin quality of CreateSpace books) to smear with a pencil blending stick.

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I own a number of coloring books by Lindsey Boylan and all of them are white line drawings on black backgrounds. “Hearts” is the same format as the rest. There are 31 designs which include hearts as their theme but I found that the detail in the designs sometimes obscured the hearts to the point of not being noticed. I can hopefully rectify that in coloring by using colors which will bring the hearts to prominence.

The designs are extremely detailed and have intricate elements to color. There are lots of flowers, vines, and tiny little lines within small elements. The hearts themselves are filled with lots of elements as well. It might have been nice to get a more simple heart or two to color with shading, etc. Some areas are so detailed that I will put a swathe of color over the tiny elements as if they were not separate and call it good.

On the whole, I still like the coloring book. It is a book of projects for those who like detail and want projects that will take longer rather than shorter periods of time to finish. It is not a book that I would recommend at all to anyone with fine motor or vision issues. It is simply too intricate and detailed and will require the use of smaller nib pens/markers and very sharp pencils.

I noticed that the feel of the paper is slightly rougher than other Creative Haven books I have ordered in this last six months or so. I like the new texture as it is even better for use with colored pencils.

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This is the third coloring book in the Francis Keene coloring book series of called Whimsical Patterns. In this book, artist Evelyne Park has provided 30 designs of Farmer’s Markets and items associated with them. I live very close to a wonderful Farmer’s Market which is in operation from March until October.

During those months, I like to spend my Saturday mornings picking up fresh veggies and fruits and seeing what special treats (such as wonderful rosemary lemon bread, jams and jellies and fresh potted herbs and flowers) I can pick up for that week. This coloring book reminds me of our market, right down to the fun entertainment for children.

I found the designs to be both cute and detailed. A few of them have smaller and more intricate areas to color. The designs are hand-drawn with the charming not quite perfect look that makes my finished projects have a unique and hand-made look. Because it is hand-drawn, the level of ink saturation on the designs from from design to design and even sometimes within a single design.

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I love cat design coloring books. I have had a number of cats in my life and now, because of health issues, I can only enjoy my kitties from a distance. This coloring book, with its 48 glorious designs, provides a wide spectrum of cat breeds and locales in which they are placed. The designs are truly from around the world and provide a wonderful coloring experience as each has a full background.

The designs are detailed (as usual with a background) but they are not what I consider intricate or difficult to color. There are a few spots with smaller areas to color especially in the backgrounds. I might not consider it for someone with visual issues but I don’t think that I will need special pens or pencils to color this book.

Just a small nit. I noticed that many countries only ranked one design (including the US) but that a few, such as France and Italy had four and a number of others had two. Based solely on the title, I would have liked one designs per country and a broader range of countries show. As I said, a nit, a I really like all of the designs in the book. Perhaps there will be a second book with other countries included.

Just a note in passing. This line of books is called “New York Times Bestselling Artists” Adult Coloring Books. It does not mean that this particular book has made it to the New York Times Best Sellers list, merely that the artists who create these books have been on that list for one or more books.

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