Coloring for Grown-ups

Do you remember coloring as a kid? I loved the world of possibilities contained in the black and white pages; the boxes of fresh crayola crayons with evocative names like "cerulean" and "goldenrod;" permission to relax and focus on nothing more than what colors to pick, and whether to color with the tips or the sides of the crayon; and, at project's end, a lovely piece of artwork to display proudly on the refrigerator. The few times recently that I've sat down and colored with my 7-year-old nephew have reminded me of these joys and made me wish there were coloring books with pictures that grown-ups would want to color and hang up in their homes. So when I came across this coloring book of vintage art posters at the Dallas Museum of Art gift shop, I snatched it right up with visions of lazy afternoons spent indulging in this childhood pastime dancing in my head:

Supplies: Fine Art Coloring Book (you can buy all sorts, here), oil pastels (the grown-up version of crayons), colored pencils (for the details), and earl grey: hot (because it's delicious and makes me think of Captain Picard).

There are a lot of cat pictures in this book.

It was really hard to choose which one to color.

Of course, I went with the cats.

What the original looks like -- I didn't peek until afterward; it's so much more fun that way.

This was such a relaxing way to spend an afternoon, and if, in the future, I use watercolors or perhaps some of those fancy illustrator's markers, I could end up with a work of art lovely enough to frame. What do you say? Shall we bring coloring back for grown-ups?