Ahhhh...Isn't Art So Relaxing?

I wouldn't call myself a "colorist," really,  but I've been into drawing and painting pretty much my whole life.  It has always been a part of who I am.  So I totally understand why people have turned to "adult coloring," doodling, etc. in the last couple years as a way to escape the pressure and stress of societies demands.  However, I have a hard time thinking of the actual process of producing any art as truly being "relaxing." 

 

Producing art can present you with loads of stressful situations.  As in the cartoon I sketched below, the pencil lead can keep snapping, the sharpener might not work, you can spill coffee on your work, accidentally color outside the lines... It can be quite stressful, actually!  

 

But I guess it isn't the process that is actually the most beneficial part of producing art.  It is the feeling you get when your work is complete and actually looks halfway decent.  I have learned over the years not to crumple up my paper and throw it across the room when I'm frustrated.  If I stick with it and adapt to my mistakes, the final product can still come out okay.  I have found this to be the case with running ultras as well.  If you keep pressing on past the "lows" and keep doing all you know how to do, eventually you will reach the "highs" and eventually the race will be over.  In fact, this is true of life in general.  Keep pressing forward and make the best you can out of the mistakes of your past. 

Art Inspiration

I thought it would be fun to show a few pictures I have snapped from the trails that were loosely used

to inspire some of my artwork.

Why Are Grown-Ups Still Coloring?

The other day we were at my wife's grandparent's house.  While my wife played Yahtzee with Papaw, I found myself doodling on the back of an old scorecard with a ballpoint pen that was on the table.  This has been my custom pretty much my whole life!  All through school I doodled on my papers, books, and even on my desk... and don't get me started on everything I drew on and colored on at home, including my wall!

Papaw was intrigued at my doodles and asked if I could draw an eagle.  While I drew him an eagle (picture below), my wife told him I was in the process of making an "adult coloring book." 

 

Now before I go on, I should point out that I've been hesitant to use the term "adult coloring book" for a few reasons.  First of all it sounds dirty! Secondly, I invite all ages to color my book when I am done (if I ever get done).  And the third reason is... well, keep reading.

 

Upon hearing the term "adult coloring book," Papaw immediately started to laugh out loud.  He said "I can just see them at the nursing home with their crayons!" 

 

I chuckled too, though a little embarrassed.  

 

He proceeded, "Do they do Color By Number, too?"

 

Little did he know, last year was a booming year for illustrators.  Adult coloring books were at the very top of Amazon's best sellers.  Johanna Basford's Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book was off the charts. "Zen" doodles, mandala, and "Sharpie art" had become (and still are) more popular than anyone could have predicted.  When I first became privy to the popularity of this hobby, I thought of all the doodles I had thrown away over the years and how I could have turned them into coloring books.  I'm not going to lie, the more I thought about it the more I saw dollar signs.  I've been working on a book ever since (and have found out just how difficult it is to produce a decent amount of good, quality illustrations that people will want to color).

 

So why is it so popular?  I can give only a few theories:

 

1.  Coloring brings back fond childhood memories

 

Because of the fact that I am trying to produce a coloring book, I joined a Facebook group called "Adult Coloring Worldwide."  I decided to take a little survey on how many in the group colored as a child and how many started later in life.  There were certainly many who jumped on the bandwagon later in life and got addicted, but overwhelmingly the members of that group loved coloring as a child.  Some continued drawing and coloring their whole life (I'm sort of in that category...even though I am one of the few men in the group), and others got away from it in their high school years only to pick it up again years later.  It makes perfect sense that we want to return to something we loved as a child.  For many of us it was like a security blanket.  It was calming and relaxing.  It helped us focus.  It was like... coffee!

 

2.  Coloring truly is therapeutic

 

I can't explain it, and I'm not sure there has been much by way of scientific research, but many people have found coloring to be a release.  Got stress? Go color.  Got anxiety? Go color.  Suffer with ADHD? Many are finding coloring to be helpful.

 

Now, I'm not going to say whether it is right or wrong for adults to turn to coloring for these issues. Certainly, getting exercise (perhaps going for a hike) and eating a better diet can help.  As a guy in ministry, I think one's spirituality must not be neglected either.  I turn to my faith in Christ for EVERY issue I go through...but I'll save that for another post.  But I can't think of any reason this hobby should be discouraged (unless of course you have no social life and don't get a thing done all day because you have 5,000 coloring books that need you... but, you know, that is a chance you take at just about any hobby!)

 

 

3.  Coloring is good, old-fashioned fun!

 

Look, we are American!  What else are you going to do?  Play video games?  Watch movies? Play Yahtzee?!!!

 

 I'd rather draw.  And if you would rather color, be my guest...just don't forget to buy my coloring book when it comes out! 

 

(Follow the progress on my coloring book project by following this blog, subscribing to my Youtube channel, and following me on Instagram and Facebook.  Thanks!)