Coloring Books and Samples

These are some of my  coloring books, and a free sample page from each one.

Coloring books – Bold and Easy Coloring Pages

First, here’s my “bold and easy” coloring books story.

I’m the one who – in 2015 – published the very first “bold and easy” coloring book.

Yes, I’m the one who started the trend. Or at least used that phrase before anyone else did.

Back in 2015, wanting a catchy phrase for these books, I chose those words.

I also thought the phrase was funny, if a bit tacky. (My mother had used it to describe, umm… a type of woman she did not approve of. I think “loose women” was another phrase she’d used.)

Yes, I have a quirky sense of humor.

So, talking about this new book series (and the books’ odd titles), I’d explained that the lines were “bold” and that made the coloring books “easy” to color.

Also, in 2015, there was no “Coloring Books for Adults” category. So, my books had to be listed in the general “Coloring Books” category, though I sought out other niches that might be a good fit.

Initially, these books gained popularity among art therapists. Then, I started hearing from women who liked being able to color in bed – late at night – without turning on a reading lamp. They could see each coloring page, even in low light!

Eventually, still listed as “Coloring Books for Children,” sales slowed and I moved on to other projects.

And then… in 2024, I discovered that not only was there a category for coloring books for adults… the “bold and easy” phrase was actually trending!

But, err, nobody seemed to find my coloring books.

So, I’m relaunching this series, one book at a time.

The Coloring Books and SAMPLES!

Here’s my Bold and Easy Coloring Pages book series, with sample pages for each.

BOLD AND EASY COLORING PAGES  1

Bold and Easy Coloring Pages - Book 1This was my first Bold and Easy coloring book. In fact, I published it back in 2015, before there was an Amazon category for “coloring books for adults.”

This was the very FIRST coloring book to use the phrase “bold and easy.”

 

Here’s the book link at Amazon.com: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 1

Here it is at Amazon.co.uk: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 1

FREE

Click here for a sample page from this book: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 1 – Sample.

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BOLD AND EASY COLORING PAGES – BOOK 2

This is the second book in this 10-book series. The style is similar to the first book, with slight variations.

[Amazon.com link: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 2]

Here’s a sample page to download: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 2 – Sample

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BOLD AND EASY COLORING PAGES – BOOK 3

Bold and easy coloring pages 3Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 3 features fresh new, easy-to-color images with bold lines.

Here’s the Amazon.com link: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 3.

Here’s another sample page to download: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 3 – Sample

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BOLD AND EASY COLORING PAGES – BOOK 4

Here’s the link to this book at Amazon.com: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 4.

Here’s this book’s sample page to download: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 4 – Sample

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BOLD AND EASY COLORING PAGES – BOOK 5

Here’s the Amazon.com link for this book: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 5

And here’s yet another sample page to download: Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 5 – Sample

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Coming soon… more coloring books and coloring book samples!

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Halloween Coloring Page – 2024

Would you like a free Halloween coloring page?  Click the image to download and print it. (The actual page is 8.5″ x 11″)

Halloween 2024 - free coloring page to download and print
(For personal use only)

More Free Art and Downloads!

Also at this website, you’ll find many Halloween and ghost-themed art ideas, and a few freebies.

Some are – admittedly – a bit dark and/or ghoulish. (In my semi-Goth teen years, I was a major fan of Edgar Allan Poe. Today…? Not so much, but some artists may appreciate these articles – and art – from many years ago, and still online.)

Here are some of them:

Art Journaling with Rubbings (cemetery art)

Elegant Rubbings with Art Foil (Halloween themes)

My Edgar Allan Poe shrine (2000) – Sold almost instantly to a collector

“Nevermore” a free, printable ATC with an Edgar Allan Poe theme

And this isn’t actually Halloween-themed – the Celtic Cross isn’t a grave marker – but this free ATC may seem just eerie enough for this time of year – Everlasting – free digital download

I hope you enjoy these freebies. Let me know what you think of them, and what you’d like to see me create in the future!

Good Vibes 1 – A Coloring Demo

Good Vibes - Aisling's coloring demonstration.One reason I create coloring books is so I can color in them myself.

Also – as a coloring book artist – I think it’s important to color your own drawings.

Then, you understand the experience.

Some people want big, bold areas to color. They want to complete them in one sitting.

Others want tiny, detailed areas, and pages that take a long time to complete.

And some want a mix of both in every coloring book.

It’s why I create lots of different kinds of coloring books.

My “Good Vibes” coloring book is a mix. This video shows one of my more detailed designs, and how I colored it. (It was a stressful, not-enough-sleep week, and coloring was a way for me to get the tension out. I think a lot of us use coloring to help us deal with life’s little – and big – stresses.)

I’ll post more videos like this, as I color my own pages. They may give you some ideas for how you’d color them… or, hey, maybe how you wouldn’t! LOL

Also, I was using three brands of coloring pencils: Pluqis, Prismacolor, and Staedtler.

I was impressed with Pluqis. For the low price, I expected very hard leads that wouldn’t blend well.

Instead, I love them. They’re not as brilliant as Prismacolor colors, but I often use Pluqis first. Then, I add dazzle with Prismacolor coloring (lightly) over the Pluqis areas, or using Prismacolor for highlights & shadows.

Tip: Prismacolor leads can be just slippery/oily enough that it’s difficult to color over them… unless you’re using another Prismacolor pencil, that is.

So, I usually sketch in my color ideas with Pluqis, first. If I don’t bear down too heavily on the paper, I can usually color over Pluqis with Prismacolor… but not always vice versa.

Prismacolor Manga pencilsPrismacolor pencils are pretty much the top of the line for most coloring book enthusiasts. They’re soft, they blend well, and… yes, the price can be daunting. I bought their Manga set, which is priced fairly low at Amazon.com, and it includes some good, juicy brights and subtle darks.

I also use Staedtler’s bright colors (with soft leads), but – to be honest – they’re in third place. Where I used to use Staedtler, I now use Pluqis when I can.

However, I know people who consider Staedtler the absolute best among colored pencils. So, it’s probably a matter of taste. And, sometimes Staedtler is the only line with the exact color that I need.

I hope those tips help. I’ll share more creative ideas – and coloring videos – soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll try my Good Vibes coloring book, and let me know what you’d like more of, in the future.

My Very First Coloring Books

If you know me in real life – and possibly even if you don’t – you probably know that I draw. And draw. And draw.

It’s something I’ve done all my life. I draw on shopping lists. I draw on church bulletins. I even draw in the margins of my Sudoku pages as I complete each puzzle.

So, when I saw an opportunity to share my drawings with others, I jumped on it.

I’m talking about coloring books… coloring books for adult, not just children.

This is kind of “how I spent my summer vacation.”

HOW THESE BOOKS STARTED

Since somewhere around the middle of July, I’ve been assembling my latest drawings and creating new ones for coloring books.

When I started out, I thought, “Sure, this looks easy.”

Oops!

Boy oh boy, was I wrong. Coloring books…? Not so easy, after all.

Not if you’re a perfectionist like me, anyway.

  • I want every drawing to look “just so.”
  • I want every book to be available in right-handed and left-handed versions. (I’m still working on the left-hand editions.)
  • I want each book to be the perfect size for the illustrations. And so on.

I put together five coloring books before I felt like I was finally ready to publish one.

Things I learned:

  • If my one-year-old granddaughter likes a design well enough to grab a crayon and start coloring it… it’s a good design.
  • Testing some of my designs with adults: some people like big lines. Others like fine lines. Some like big coloring areas. Some like super-intricate designs. And so on. It’s best to focus on books that will make many people happy, but expect criticism. And some one-star reviews.
  • I’m far more finicky about how my books look than the pre-press guy assembling them for publication. Sometimes, my requests drive him crazy. (In this case, that “pre-press guy” is my husband. He does this kind of work for a living.)

But finally (cue the drumroll), I have books to talk about. Each is for a different kind of coloring enthusiast.

They are designed for adults, even though – as I’m writing this – Amazon only has a category “Coloring Books for Children.” So, you may have to search for these books by name.

My current favorite is a coloring book that fits in my purse. At 5 1/4″ x 8″, it’s just a little larger than a standard paperback book.

A Small Coloring Book - Coloring Hippie StyleIt’s A Small Coloring Book: Coloring Hippie-Style, and it contains 50 kinda-sorta hippie coloring pages.

I had a lot of fun with this book because I’ve been drawing these kinds of pictures since my early teens.

They make me happy, and I’ve always liked coloring them myself.

I hope you’ll feel the same way.

This coloring book offers a lot of variety… simple drawings (like on the cover), mandalas, and repeating patterns.

Some can be colored quickly, while others might take a few hours (depending on the number of colors and the detail you like).

Each design is printed on just one side of the page. (I still recommend putting a sheet of paper underneath the page you’re coloring, just in case the ink seeps through.)

Buy it here: A Small Coloring Book – Coloring, Hippie-Style

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Bold and Easy Coloring Pages - Book 1My next coloring book was Bold and Easy Coloring Pages. It’s a collection of coloring designs with bigger-than-average coloring spaces and bolder-than-usual lines.

I created it when my daughter & I realized my granddaughter really liked easy-to-color pages.

Then, as we talked about it, we thought of other situations where bold, easy coloring pages might be really helpful.

Like when you really want to color in the middle of the night, but don’t want to turn on a bright light.

Or for people who don’t like to wear their reading glasses while they color.

And for use in therapy settings. And so on.

So, it became a book.

It was the very first “bold and easy” coloring book ever published.

And yes, I thought that phrase was funny.

Of course, I explained that it wasn’t a trashy book, it had bold lines and it was easy to color. LOL

And that’s what I’ve been working on during Summer 2015.

Click here for a free sample page from “Bold and Easy Coloring Pages 1”

Here’s my coloring book info:

Looking for free coloring pages to download? Click on the link below…

Coloring Books and Samples