Q and A with a coloring book artist—Me!

Hello, I’m Becky Bullough, and I’m interviewing myself, an inspired and hopefully inspirational artist who draws coloring books for grownups. Creating is my happy place! Read on to see what makes me tick, artistically speaking!

Q: How long have you been an artist?

A: Oh, you know, I was using finger paints when I was barely out of diapers. I just never stopped creating! Just kidding, I always think it’s funny when artists say they started drawing as a young child, because, I mean, didn’t almost everyone?

I love to draw, and occasionally painted a picture or two throughout the years as an adult, mostly for myself and family (whether they wanted them or not! It’s a gift—you can’t give it back!) I took a couple of watercolor painting classes about 15 years ago, but now I pretty much just have my own painting style, which has been called folk art.

Q: What kind of art have you created? X

A: I’ve drawn with pencil, ink, and right now I draw my coloring pages with an Apple Pencil on my iPad Pro. I’ve used pastels, colored pencils, acrylics, and watercolor. I think watercolor is my favorite painting medium.

I also have sculpted figurines with a rough terra-cotta clay from a local adobe-brick making company who generously fired my small figurines interspersed among the large landscape pots and statues they created. Unfortunately, the company went out of business after the founders and owners died. And nothing else worked for me—my figurines exploded in regular ceramic kilns. You can’t imagine how traumatic that is! So I don’t sculpt anymore, unfortunately. My style was unique to that clay. But I really loved working the terra cotta with my hands and creating something from a lump of clay! It was soothing and relaxing.

Q: Do you create other things besides art?

A: Well, I love to sew but don’t really do it much anymore because I’m enjoying my art so much. I find inspiration in every one of my creative endeavors. Probably the first creative thing I learned to do beyond the art things everybody does as kids, is sewing. My sister and I took a sewing class at Singer when I was in 5th grade. I made a dress and got to wear it in the culminating fashion show, and I was hooked. I’ve sewn since then—sometimes a little, sometime a lot.

My mom and I sewed most of my clothes in high school and college. I was in the transitory period between shame at not being able to afford expensive clothes so you have to sew them (most oft-heard phrase in the clothing department—“We can make that”), and pride in creating something handmade that looked ”store-bought.” My mother was a beautiful seamstress, and my sister is also amazing! Probably the things I’m most proud of sewing are my wedding dress and shirts for my husband. I had never sewn men’s clothing before, and had to learn to do French seams (where there are no raw edges–like store-bought)! I made us matching shirts when we were first married because we’re cheesy like that. I also sewed for my daughters and I’m sewing for my granddaughter now. It’s not something I do a lot anymore, and sometimes I miss it. But of course I’ve made masks for Covid like every other seamstress in the world. I also enjoy lots of different kinds of crafts although, again, art and blogging have lately kind of hijacked my creative juices. In a good way!

Q: What brought you to the point you are now in your art?

A: When I retired and finally had more time to do some of the things I love to do, I started seeing zentangle drawings that really intrigued me. I started playing around, drawing designs on scrap paper and index cards and then inking them. It sort of became an obsession with me, and I drew just about everywhere I went (just ask my husband or the wait staff at Chili’s). My style is more what is called zendoodle, because zentangle is actually a registered type of art with specific designs. And somewhere along the line I discovered mandalas, which are tons of fun to draw and color!

I find drawing and doodling, zen or otherwise, to be great stress relievers!

Q: Why adult coloring pages?

A: Yikes, that sounds like something I shouldn’t be involved in! Let’s be clear that adult coloring simply means that it’s geared towards adults (and even teens) because it is generally more sophisticated and intricate art than that designed for children. I certainly don’t draw anything that would be unsuitable for children—though some people do, so you need to be aware of that if you search for adult coloring books!

Anyway, back to the question—I realized that grownups were coloring the type of art I was drawing, and started delving into the world of coloring book artists and colorists through Facebook groups, which expanded my knowledge of that whole creative scene. I was having so much fun drawing, and I was pretty jazzed about the idea that someone might actually want to buy coloring pages that I drew! I started off with printable coloring page downloads in Etsy (like the one shown here) but have since added a couple of books in Amazon. It’s fun to share with others in addition to friends and family.

Q: Why do you think coloring made a comeback for adults?

A: Artist Johanna Basford is recognized as the first one to tap into (or develop) a new market for adult coloring in 2013. She created whimsical coloring books you could buy in either soft or hard bound editions that featured intricate and charming pictures that appealed to adults instead of kiddos, packaged it as a high-end product, and suddenly they were all the rage.

Johanna is a very down-to-earth and adorable young artist with a delightful Scottish accent who is just as whimsical as her art. She’s like my coloring book artist guru. She has a free mini 12-page coloring book she’s giving away here during the pandemic. She’s so quirky that she thought it would be fun to draw a ginormous coloring sheet recently, and she set out and won the Guinness World Record for the largest drawing by an individual! https://www.johannabasford.com/world-record-breaking/

Q: What makes adult coloring different than the coloring we did as kids?

A: My art is suitable for everyone, but often more detailed and intricate than children usually enjoy or are able to do. Personally, I don’t draw too many cute animals and princesses and unicorns (although some grownups enjoy coloring them). Fantasy art is very popular in the coloring world.

Also, rather than using color crayons, adult colorists typically use colored pencils, fine liners, or markers (even glitter pens).

Q: What types of pictures do you draw?

A: Well, I mentioned I enjoy zendoodling and drawing mandalas. One of my favorite types of pictures is what I call “embellished” scriptures. One of my printable coloring books on Etsy is comprised of embellished scriptures about peace. I also drew a book celebrating sisters and those as close as sisters, especially to honor my own sisters. I draw sets and individual coloring pages featuring sign language and cancer awareness ribbons as well, because these are special areas of interest to me. And I draw some fun pictures, bookmarks and journaling cards, and pictures for holidays and special occasions, just because.

Q: Why do adults color, anyway? Isn’t coloring for kids?

A: Because it’s super fun! I mean, what’s not to like about making the world more colorful? Some grownups have not stopped coloring since childhood and like nothing better than relaxing mindlessly with a good coloring book. But mindfulness is a better way to describe it, because coloring allows you to focus in a mindful way on what you are creating, allowing any concerns that may have been occupying your mind to be pushed aside for the time being. It is a great stress reliever. I have also heard people say they color to take their mind off of their health problems—it helps many deal with chronic pain, with anxiety, and with depression. It can even help improve eye-hand coordination for patients recovering from strokes and similar challenges. I actually experience some of these same benefits when I draw. It relaxes me and helps me to cope with stress.

Having said that, it’s important for people to color because they enjoy it, not comparing themselves to other colorists or feeling inadequate because their work is not professional. I use the word professional because some colorists do such incredible work, with layer upon layer of color and meticulous shading, that they are able to sell their colored pictures (they own the single copy of the picture they bought and can sell it—but legally they cannot make copies and sell them due to copyright). I think I draw better than I color, and I’m in awe of their talent. But I love all the coloring, no matter what the level. They are all coloring artists—colorists.

As a coloring book artist, I consider the pages I draw to be incomplete until someone adds color to them and makes them unique. The same picture can look totally dissimilar and convey distinct moods when colored by individual colorists using different palettes. It’s so exciting when people buy my black and white line art and transform it into vibrant, colorful masterpieces!

I also have used my coloring designs on mugs, journals, and wall art, and I’m planning to add more products in the near future.

A: Do you only draw line art?

Q: Yup. Some artists shade their pictures for grayscale coloring, where the shadows and shadings are created by the grayscale itself. Some colorists enjoy grayscale as well as line art. You can also find grayscale books made from photographs, either taken by the artist or curated from photographs they own the rights to use commercially. They remove the color and then the colorist reimagines it with their unique tastes and talent.

Q: Do you still draw in pencil and then ink your pictures, tracing all the lines?

A: Not usually, although that’s the way I started. A couple of years ago, my husband bought me an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil, and I’ve never looked back! It’s still my same creativity and original drawing, but the process is so much quicker because not only can you fix your mistakes easily, when you finish drawing it is a simple matter of saving it in print-ready .pdf files rather than drawing in pencil, inking, and then tracing your drawing electronically or scanning it in. It’s generally much better quality of resolution, too.

Q: Where do you sell your coloring pages and books?

A: I have sold them in my community at our local Art Hop, where artisans and musicians are featured in different downtown businesses and the patrons stroll through and check out the art. I have also sold them at our local Farmers’ Market, and I’ve drawn special pictures to give to kids at our Children’s Garden. In addition, I have an Etsy shop (SpringMillArtDesigns.etsy.com) and I sell some coloring books and journals on Amazon.

Q: Where did you get the name for your Etsy shop?

A: When I was brainstorming names with family I looked around my living room and saw the picture I had painted years ago of Spring Mill in Arkansas. My mom had grown up near the grist mill and we always stopped there when we visited the old home place and played in the pond. I’d drawn and painted the picture and written a poem about it for my mom years ago. It makes me happy just to think about it—it evokes fond memories and has special meaning to me, so I thought it would make a unique name for my shop.

Q: Do you think adult coloring is on its way out?

A: I’ve read a lot about this as well as experienced it myself. I think that there was a fad element a few years ago. But I believe that there will also always be serious colorists who find artistic expression, stress relief, mindfulness, and relief from chronic pain and will continue to color. Some therapists even use it as a component in the treatment for their clients. And others are still discovering its calming benefits and just beginning to color again. Adult coloring (or colouring, or coloring in, depending on where you live) is here to stay! Let’s color our world!

If you want to see more of my coloring book art, head on over to SpringMillArtDesigns.etsy.com. I also have occasionally used my art as illustration in some of my blog posts, so you should be able to click on a picture and it will take you to that coloring page in my Etsy shop, just in case you’d like to color it!