Colouring For Big Kids
I’ve never been a particular fan of colouring books or sheets for children in general terms – I’d always felt that they are not especially creative, and that while useful perhaps for younger children, the doodle books which encourage children to draw and use their imagination are better. I think perhaps I have been something of a colouring snob.
While a part of me still believes that in general terms, I have come to feel that colouring books and sheets do have an important place of their own – I have found that some children – especially younger ones, or those perhaps lacking in confidence to draw themselves, do appreciate them, and there are some beautiful ones out there. But what about older children? Do colouring books still have a role to play for them?
I remember having a quite detailed colouring book of countryside scenes when I was about 9 or 10 years old which I loved, but I’ve not done any colouring since. After all, I am quite happy to draw for myself. However I have heard that it is quite a popular, relaxing pursuit for some adults, and I recently bought these 2 books for myself as a bit of shameless self-indulgence. I thought some of the completed sheets would actually look quite good framed, and I could see a wealth of possibilities for colouring them in different ways, which in itself makes it a creative activity.
Dover (the publisher of these 2 books) produce lots of books of this kind, including colouring books and cut out dolls etc., which reference historical motifs and traditional designs, and this I suppose was part of the appeal for me. The two that I have bought are only suitable for older children and adults – as you can see they are quite detailed, and would take time and care to colour in properly. But at just £5.44 for the 2 (from Amazon) with no postage costs, they are excellent value for money, and will certainly keep me good for hours. Because of this, they may just sit around for a long time with me looking longingly at them occasionally, like lots of the other projects I plan to start and never get time to do – sigh!
And finally, if you do enjoy colouring, or have an older child who enjoys it, then it is well worth while visiting the Patterns for Colouring website which has a large selection of free detailed colouring sheets, all based on patterns, which you can print off.
You can find the colouring books on Amazon here:
Decorative Tile Designs Coloring Book
Addenda – 2016
Little did I know when I wrote this post how very popular colouring for adults would soon become! I was obviously ahead of my time here. There are now no shortage of beautiful and inspirational books available, some of them works of art in their own right. How times change…
