The Flower Year: A Coloring Book
By: Leila Duly
Rating: 4 of 5
I must admit that my first feelings upon opening this book were of disappointment. I had expected this book to be in the same format as Leila Duly’s first book and was surprised and unhappy to see the new format.
The first book was printed in large format, single sided and on heavy card stock. This book is printed in a smaller than average format, printed on both sides of the page and the paper is considerably lighter in weight (medium/heavyweight paper rather than card stock.)
After getting over both my initial feelings and just myself in general, I looked again at the book and realized that while it was not published as fantastically as the first book, it is still a very well done book compared to most coloring books out there.
My only real problem with the book, and the reason I detracted a star, is that many of designs are so scaled down in size to fit the smaller format that it is difficult to color in the tiny spaces. The book is both detailed and intricate in scope, I cannot recommend it to anyone with fine motor or vision issues.
While those are not issues for me, finding coloring medium that works with the book requires using ultra-fine, micro-point and extremely sharp nib medium. I choose to use coloring pencils sharpened to a very fine point. I may use my Tombows and other watercolor brushes and markers as well as they did not leak through the page (see below.)
The designs are set up as a calendar of sorts of flowers which are in bloom during each month of the year. The names are generally included on the each design and there is a thumbnail listing of the designs (and flowers therein) at the end of the book.
I am also in hopes that the publisher, Laurence King Publishing, will come out with an artists edition of this book as they did with Johanna Basford when she was with this publisher. If so, I hope that they concentrate on the two-page spread designs and enlarge them for ease of coloring rather than printing large versions of the single flower designs. Ms. Duly’s first book was in the format of an artists edition, so I think there is hope that it will happen.
This is what I found while coloring in this book and testing it with my coloring medium.
95 flower designs as shown throughout the year. Some of these are elaborate and intricate while others are small designs to fill in a page of quotations.
Printed on both sides of the page. There is a mix single page designs and designs that spread across two pages
Paper is heavyweight, ivory color, lightly rough, and non-perforated
Sewn binding which can be snipped to release several pages at a time. I prefer to keep my book intact as a calendar of flowers throughout the year.
Book is smaller than average (approximately 7 x 9 inches) with a hard back cover and an attached fabric ribbon bookmark.
Alcohol-based markers bleed through the page. If you use these, you will have ink seep through and mar the design on the back of the page.
Water-based markers, gel pens and India ink pens do not bleed through the page.
Colored pencils work well with the slightly rough paper. I was able to blend, layer the same and multiple colors using both oil and wax-based pencils with ease.