Do you like colouring in? I know it's not the coolest thing to do but I get so much joy from it. I also benefit mentally and creatively when I colour in.
Colouring in helps me get out of a stress-rut.
Seriously. Colouring in is part of my personal 'self-defence against anxiety kit'.
On good days I find the act of drawing cathartic, meditative and relaxing. On bad days it stresses me out. On bad days, when it feels like things are unravelling, I want more than ever for my work to be perfect, to be a metaphor for my own life. This isn't a realistic goal and it isn't helpful.
I've found that going back to primary-school-basics and colouring in helps to release that tension.The act of purposefully slowing down, putting on a podcast, grabbing a colouring in book, picking the brightest magenta in my pencil collection and going for it is the best way for me to stop worrying about 'doing it right'. For me, colouring in makes drawing feel childish and carefree again and suddenly colouring in becomes more about allowing myself to enjoy the moment by creating fun colour combinations rather than pressuring myself to be perfect.
I hope that you find joy in colouring too.
A friend of mine suggested that I make a colouring-in zine, which is something that I'd love to explore further down the track, but for now I thought I'd make a few of my illustrations available for download from time to time, starting with this one.
About this illustration
Day dreaming of summertime bush walks, I drew one of my favourite flowers in the winter of 2016: Richea scoparia. A beautiful and strange flower, this mountain-dweller is a prickly shrub for most of the year and flowers in summer with berry-like petals that wallabies love to chomp on. It only grows in Tasmanian sub-alpine and alpine areas, making it extra special. Don't you think?
I hope you enjoy colouring it in, or adding your own illustrations to the picture, or just turning it into a floral paper aeroplane! I'd love to see how you've chosen colour in your flower, so don't be shy to get in touch.
One last thing: this illustration is free to use, but I ask that it is used for personal use only. Thanks!
Ruth