Flowers & Gems
By: Grazia Salvo
Rating: 5 of 5
This is my first coloring book by Grazia Salvo. I’m very impressed by how beautifully she draws, both the figures and the accents. The women in her drawings have expressive eyes that hint at what they might be thinking. Most of the designs are three-quarter frames with some being mainly headshots.
The designs are detailed but not what I would consider intricate. They are an unusual mix of line drawing and almost a light form of grayscale. While I like the book, I could almost have wished for two – one with straight line drawings and another which was full grayscale.
My only one small nit about the designs are that because there is a blend of both line drawing and grayscale, some of the lines, especially around the mouth appear to be overdrawn with a heavier line. I find this a bit distracting and will have to find a way to minimize it when coloring in the book.
As my husband is already eyeing my copy of this book, I will have to hide it until he gives up and gets his own.
Phoenix Amulet (the publisher) has developed one of the best styles of publishing coloring books that I have found to date. Not only is the paper a good medium/heavy weight, it also has great tooth, is printed one-sided, has excellent perforations and, best of all, has a covered spiral binding that makes opening and laying this book flat and keeping it flat, simple to do.
I wish more designers turned to this publisher instead of CreateSpace. I would gladly pay more for this quality of coloring book.
