“Secret Garden” by Johanna Basford
Mom: What are you doing, Donna?
Me: Coloring.
This exchange took place every single day, often multiple times per day. I loved to read and draw and paint and sculpt (and dance and make costumes and sing and put on shows, etc.), but the most soothing activity I can remember from my childhood is coloring. Happily, I think it may be time to bring out the crayons and colored pencils again.
Artist and illustrator Johanna Basford has turned coloring books for adults into a wildly successful business. Her books have been so popular, they have been translated into 14 languages. The French, in particular, have gone completely mental for the things. Incredibly, her books have even outsold cookbooks in France, which is entirely unheard of!
EarthPorm (No, I don’t know what that means) is calling them the first coloring books made for adults. I know that is not true. I have shopped for them before, and I recently gave two coloring books to one of my very best friends (she is a big kid like me) for her birthday, and they were very definitely NOT for children.
Whether or not she’s a trailblazer, her books are really stunning and leave plenty of room for creativity. She’s also started selling her illustrations as notecards. You can buy her beautiful coloring books on Amazon, then send her your best work, and she may feature it on her website! Here are a few of the more popular reader submissions.
(Many thanks to Jane for bringing this to my attention!)
“Secret Garden” colored by Ariel
“Enchanted Foresst” colored by Crista Sista
“Secret Garden” colored by Elena Chan
“Secret Garden” colored by Steph
“Secret Garden” colored by Miriam
“Enchanted Forest” colored by Allison Zagar
“Secret Garden” colored by Allison Zagar
“Enchanted Forest” colored by Anna Nights
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My OBT 
April 3, 2015 at 7:12 am
nice post
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April 3, 2015 at 7:14 am
Coming soon, “Enchanted Forest” by Donna. I can see it now.
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April 3, 2015 at 8:56 am
100 mandalas is accepting submissions for a mandala coloring book.
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April 3, 2015 at 10:22 pm
That’s a really cool idea! I would buy that book!
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April 3, 2015 at 9:31 am
I have these books too and enjoy them very much. When I feel creatively stuck, I use them to play with color combinations. It was a delight to see what others are doing with them on your post!
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April 3, 2015 at 11:23 am
Her website is full of people’s work. It’s really generous of her, I think.
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April 3, 2015 at 9:32 am
These are beautiful and what a great idea! I saw this white and black paisley wallpaper in a home magazine a few years ago that was so intricately designed that it just begged to be colored in 🙂 – Karen
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April 3, 2015 at 11:26 am
Your comment made me wonder if there was colorable wallpaper, and behold what Google coughed up:
http://www.parents.com/blogs/everyday-fun/2013/10/23/decor/drawing-on-the-walls-wallpaper-your-kids-can-color/
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April 3, 2015 at 9:52 am
I’d bet this is an awesome stress reliever. I’m going to order some! 🙂
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April 3, 2015 at 11:21 am
Me, too!
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April 3, 2015 at 10:35 am
In the 70’s I found kits that included large detailed black and white drawings with felt tipped markers. I bought several to decorate my first apt. They were not as nice as these..
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April 3, 2015 at 11:22 am
Glad you like them, too!
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April 3, 2015 at 11:32 am
Oooh those are really beautiful.
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April 3, 2015 at 11:42 am
Aren’t they pretty?
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April 3, 2015 at 11:40 am
My parents had this really beautiful biblical coloring book that they executed so artistically that I looked at it almost every weekend alone in my room. It’s sad but I don’t know whatever happened to it and I really miss that book. I can only assume that fell victim to one of my stepdad’s purging furies.
These remind me of that book – very grown-up beautiful.
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April 3, 2015 at 11:42 am
That’s sweet and sad. You don’t remember the title, do you?
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April 3, 2015 at 11:51 am
I wish I did… It was the early 70’s when I saw it & they probably bought it in the late 60’s.
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April 3, 2015 at 11:57 am
Oh, well. I’m sure it’s out there somewhere. Maybe it will find you some day!
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April 3, 2015 at 11:59 am
Aren’t they brill? I was watching a programme on the Beeb about France post Charlie Hebdo and they mentioned the fact about adult colouring books taking off. it does seem weird and rather unstereotypical of a nation that prides itself on its sophistication and cool; but then all that proves is colouring is sophisticated and cool!
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April 3, 2015 at 1:42 pm
Exactly!
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April 3, 2015 at 3:37 pm
I have no less than 20 of these types of adult coloring books, I look for them everywhere, and I love coloring them. I use markers as my medium, I haven’t tried colored pencils or water colors yet. I also have a bunch of Zentangles books and do them to also improve my focus and concentration. They are excellent stress relievers for me, and when I am feeling out of sorts a good coloring session always picks me up. Color on!!! ~MB
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April 3, 2015 at 10:15 pm
That’s fantastic! We’re totally open to recommendations if you feel like sharing some.
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April 3, 2015 at 4:41 pm
Reblogged this on notewords and commented:
Beautiful images!
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April 3, 2015 at 4:52 pm
i HAVE A FRIEND WHO COLORS and she will love you for this!
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April 3, 2015 at 10:17 pm
Hooray!!! (And tell her hi for me!)
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April 3, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Hey, Donna. I looked all over Basford’s website (I think)but never saw a place to sign up for her blog. Surely there is a place to do so. Would you mind terribly sharing that information with us, if there is such a place?
On a side note, somehow I downloaded some viral stuff to my laptop and am presently using my Droid to check emails and stuff. So I mght be out of touch a few days: working all weekend including right now (yes I am allowed to be online here). It will probably be sometime Monday before I can sit down and wade thru the laptop.
Oh, well.
Be blessed. 😉
Later.
Mitsu
>^;^<
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April 3, 2015 at 10:20 pm
http://www.johannabasford.com/blog
Here it is, love. Sorry about your, um, virus. Good luck.
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April 3, 2015 at 9:35 pm
I love the colors! And I miss coloring…
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April 3, 2015 at 10:21 pm
Well, fix that!
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April 3, 2015 at 10:22 pm
You are 100% right! Crayola, I’m coming for you! 🙂
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April 3, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Right? I’m missing my 64-count box.
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April 3, 2015 at 10:30 pm
The thrill of a brand new box of crayons and the smell! Had the privilege of visiting the Crayola Factory & Museum in Easton, PA, many years ago.
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April 3, 2015 at 10:32 pm
That sounds like fun!
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April 7, 2015 at 10:28 am
These are beautiful!
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April 7, 2015 at 10:56 am
I would so much rather be coloring right now . . .
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April 10, 2015 at 2:53 am
These are really beautiful and a great idea. Sometime I make mandalas, but this is stunning 😉
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April 10, 2015 at 6:40 am
I love mandalas. I used to buy embroidered Chinese silk mandalas and put them on everything. I miss the nineties!
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April 10, 2015 at 7:19 am
They will be modern again and in the meanwhile we can create our own 😉
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August 1, 2015 at 11:02 am
Reblogged this on GettingrealwithPTSD and commented:
Coloring can be very good for the soul — especially these beautiful books…
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August 1, 2015 at 10:13 pm
These are definitely for adults – quite complex. All beautifully colored and frameable!
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August 2, 2015 at 1:31 am
I got one for a friend recovering from a serious illness, and they are truly spectacular in person. I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed sending it to her.
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August 2, 2015 at 12:11 pm
I can’t see why she would not enjoy it! This has been put onto my gifting list!
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August 19, 2015 at 10:08 am
I loved colouring books as a child, and I can see many reasons why the new trend of adult colouring books is getting a good response. They must be a natural stress-buster, and a nice break from the fast pace of the modern world, and its electronic entertainments.
Best wishes from England. Pete.
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August 19, 2015 at 10:15 am
Thanks, Pete! I really enjoy them, too.
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August 21, 2015 at 9:54 am
I think the pictures are amazing the colors are quite subtle so are very pleasing on the eyes. they bring light to a normally grey day, thank you.
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August 21, 2015 at 10:12 am
I’m so glad you like them! People have done some really spectacular work.
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August 23, 2015 at 4:45 pm
Simply beautiful and certainly important.
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August 23, 2015 at 5:02 pm
They are a great jumping off point, and you get to be a contributor to the art!
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August 25, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Colouring can take us out of our left brain…similar to meditation! As an artist/sculptor i rarely use colour, so it’s a whole new world!
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August 25, 2015 at 3:47 pm
It’s an interesting idea, too, to let your viewers be the ones to add the color. Makes the work more participatory and less static.
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September 5, 2015 at 2:00 pm
I love her illustrations and I have her postcards. I also love to color but have been frustrated by the poor quality of the paper that I found all of these books printed on. I have started making my own illustrations and reproducing them on watercolor paper. I have not been able to keep up with local demand, but I’m working out some of the kinks and will be setting up an Etsy site for the holidays this year. If you want to use watercolor pencils to color check out my blog for updates https://lunanista.wordpress.com/
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September 5, 2015 at 10:53 pm
That’s a great idea!
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September 10, 2015 at 11:23 am
Such a great idea! Thank you!
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September 10, 2015 at 11:30 am
I treated myself to a few of the coloring books, and I love them. Very soothing!
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October 3, 2015 at 7:33 pm
I am with you on this, I always loved coloring with my kids and when I was young my favorite was the Peter Max calendar that you could color. It was a birthday gift and came with a rainbow of flair marking pens. Wish I still had that one!
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October 3, 2015 at 8:58 pm
I remember that. What a great idea that was!
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December 22, 2015 at 4:55 am
To be able to win your administration’s approval,
and assuage your agency, underscore exactly how much you control every little thing relating to this
channel.
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December 22, 2015 at 8:32 am
Well, for what it’s worth, you’ve got my approval. What did you want to say?
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