A Lovely Evening for Some Coloring

Hi there. How are you?

Last week I took a trip back to my hometown to host an adult coloring party at the Rockford Art Museum. What a blast!

I hosted an adult coloring party on May 12 at the Rockford Art Museum. So fun!

The setting for the coloring party...Right in the middle of the main gallery!

A Lovely Setting

The party took place right in the middle of the main gallery at the museum. The current exhibition features work by Stephen Warde Anderson, a nationally known "outsider" artist and Rockford native. It's really delightful! Do try to catch it before it closes on May 30th.

 All of the guests got a copy of Elegant Abstracts, my newest coloring book.

Coloring and wine go well together

Each guest received a copy of my new "Elegant Abstracts" coloring book and the museum supplies lovely Prismacolor pencils for them to use.  I shared a couple of colored pencil techniques and then we drank wine, socialized, and colored!

Here are some snaps from the evening:

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

Thanks to all who attended. I had a blast and hope you did too!

---

Would you like to hold an adult coloring party?

I'd love to host more coloring parties like this. Would you like me to come to your home, your library, or your event and lead some coloring? Do get in touch!

Until next week. Ciao!

My Newest Coloring Book is Here!

Hi there. How are you?

With 20 pages of coloring goodness, Elegant Abstracts, my newest coloring book is now for sale! Yahoo!

My newest coloring book is now for sale! Click through to purchase.

Video Flip Through

I put together a quick little video of me flipping through the pages so that you can get a glimpse of what you'll get inside Elegant Abstracts. I'm new to the video thing, but it's been fun to learn a new media.

A sampling of pages from my newest coloring book.

Coloring Book Details

Just like in my last book, all coloring book pages are single sided so that you can easily remove to share or hang your colored creations. It was professionally printed right here in Carbondale, Illinois on a nice 70 lb. paper. For best results use colored pencils, water-based markers, or crayons. Sharpies and other solvent-based markers work as well, but will bleed through. As long as you put a scrap piece of paper under your page, color away with your Sharpies.

A 24 Hour Deal for You!

Printing prices for this new book have increased, so Elegant Abstracts is going to cost a bit more than my previous book. But for the next 24 hours, you can purchase at the old price of $12.00!

Buy both of my coloring books together at a discount! Click through to purchase.

Want to Double your Coloring Fun?

I've decided to create a bundle deal. Save $10.00 if you buy both Pattern Play and Elegant Abstracts together! Two high quality coloring books for $20.00. That's a steal!

That's all for this week!

If you enjoy my artwork and blog, please share this post and my sale with your friends.

Ciao.

My Favorite Tools for Adult Coloring

Hi There. How are you?

As my loyal readers know, I produced a coloring book this fall.  (It's been the most popular item I've ever sold to date! Thank you for that!) I often get asked about the best materials for coloring, so I thought I'd share my personal faves.

My Favorite Tools for Adult Coloring - JENNIFERJOHANSSON.COM

I'm All About Prismacolors

If I'm going to sit down and color, I'm going to use Prismacolor pencils.  They are so soft and easy to blend. (I'm in no way being paid by Prismacolor to sing their praises, I just really like them!)

At more than $1.00 each, Prismacolors are expensive. That's why I recommend you start with a set of Prismacolor Scholar pencils.  Designed for the " developing artist", Prismacolor Scholars are really just as nice as the Prismacolor Premiers, but are a little less expensive and don't break quite as easily. You can get a set of 24 Prismacolor Scholars for $7.48 on DickBlick.com. That's a steal!

If you are new to colored pencil blending, I also recommend you pick up a colorless blender.  It's basically a colored pencil without any pigment, and helps to soften edges and blend two colors together.

Sharpening Prismacolors

If you're not careful, It's very easy to break the lead while sharpening Prismacolors. To keep this from happening, always use a handheld sharpener or even an exacto knife to sharpen your Prismacolors. I'm quite fond of the General's All Art sharpeners, as long as they stay sharp. At just $1.00 a pop, you can afford to pick up a new one every few months or so. When sharpening Prismacolors, turn the pencil sharpener while holding the colored pencil still. You put less stress on the pencil and have less of a chance of breaking the lead.

Erase if You Must

The art teacher in me believes that you don't need to use an eraser with colored pencils. You just find a creative way to cover up your "mistakes." Colored pencils don't erase all that well either. You'll never be able to get back to a perfectly, white paper, but you will be able to lift up most of the pigment.

My favorite eraser of all time is the Magic Rub. It's a vinyl eraser that won't smudge or leave marks like pink erasers can. If you're trying to get into tiny detailed areas, try a kneaded eraser. They are like silly putty and can be molded into all sorts of shapes and sizes.

A page from my coloring book, Pattern Play, colored with Prismacolor pencils.

A Coloring Tutorial?

I'm thinking about doing a little Prismacolor coloring tutorial video. Would you be interested in that friends? Leave me a comment and let me know!

What Do You Use to Color?

I'd love to hear from you. Ciao friends!