Daily Archives: May 1, 2018

Before I discuss what is in this coloring book, I want to note that the designs are not new. They are taken from several other Dover books by Dot Barlowe. I don’t have any of the previous books but will list them for you so you can check to see if you already own most of these designs: “America the Beautiful to Paint or Color” (2006), “Flower Gardens to Paint or Color” (2007), “Nautical Scenes to Paint or Color” (2007) and “Tropical Paradise Scenes to Pain or Color” (2009).

It is a tad annoying that Dover does not list this information in the product blurb. For many, it appears that new designs are available from an artist they enjoy only to be disappointed. I’ve had this happen with other designers from Dover as well.

The designs in this coloring book are seashore inspired. There are boats, cottages, tropical huts, ocean scenes and more. The designs are quite sketchy in appearance. It’s easy to see that these were done by hand because of the thick and thin pen strokes.

The colored samples included in the book appear to be original artwork from the illustrator and not designs which have been colored from the pages in this book. I generally find when that is done by the publisher, it is because the designs are more intricate and won’t look like the original artwork. When I come across these types of books, I find them a bit more challenging as they include small areas to color. This is a book that my husband will enjoy coloring in more than I as he really loves ocean scenes.

I’ve noticed that the paper quality over the last few months seems to change quite frequently on the Creative Haven line. Because of that, if you buy one of these books, it may be slightly smooth or slightly rough depending on when and where it was printed. I’ve found that coloring medium, including pencils, work similarly with both slightly rough and slightly smooth paper from Creative Haven. In this case, my coloring book pages are slightly rough.

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