WORKING COVER FOR MY NEW SWEARY COLORING BOOK!

Working cover of my Swearing Coloring Book!

It's been a long few months working on my latest coloring book, the Not Quite SWEARY But Seriously SNARKY Coloring Book, but I'm in the home stretch!

You can visit my Coloring Life Happy Facebook page to see the WIP (work in progress) videos of the many of the pages included in the book. Those videos will show you my working methods and illustrating style and give you some fun insights to my work day.

Here's just a few working stills of the 30 (single sided!) Coloring Pages that will be in the book:

Be sure to check out ALL my Coloring (& Cocktail Books) on my Amazon Author Page.

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COLORING BOOK BLENDING TIPS, TECHNIQUES & MEDIUMS, Preserving Your Coloring Pages.

DO YOU WANT YOUR COLORING PAGES TO LAST A LIFETIME?
There's a lot of discussion about ways to blend colored pencils on the coloring book pages and coloring forums on Facebook and the internet. Many of the posts I see talk about using Vaseline (petroleum jelly), baby oil, vegetable oil and other greasy home use products to blend colored pencils like Prismacolors. I've even seen nail polish remover suggested as a blending medium. Every time I see these suggestions I cringe. As a professional artist and illustrator of over 40 years I have always used archival procedures in producing all of my original art, whether it be a painting or drawing or any other original work. Petroleum products, oils and other household products that are not produced for use as an art medium can often damage the paper and the pencil pigments themselves, leading to eventual deterioration of the artwork.
If you want to keep your finished coloring pages safe and protected for decades to come, you will want to use approved blending mediums and techniques. Among the mediums you can use are:
1.  Blending Pencils and Sticks.(Prismacolor Colorless Blender and theCaran d’Ache Full Blender Bright.) I use these most often with pastels as opposed to colored pencils, but they work for both.
2. Turpenoid, a solvent (a newer version of the classic artist's thinning and blending, but dangerous, turpentine.) Turpenoid is not completely safe and, like turpentine, presents certain health risks if not used properly and in a well-ventilated area, but the fumes are less severe than turpentine. This is my favorite liquid solvent to use as it evaporates faster than mineral spirits. I use it mostly for large areas and backgrounds. 3. Mineral Spirits, a paint thinner and solvent (Gamsol). Again not the safest blender healthwise, but way less odor than turpens.
4. The Icarus Art Board. This is basically a heat plate that will melt the medium as you work. Very pricey.
5. White Pencils. This is one of my top blending techniques.  Unlike the solvents which can bleed into nearby areas, white pencils give you pencil point control over your blending area. Frankly, I think they give you the smoothest blending. ( I order white pencils by the dozens!)
As mentioned above, the turpines and mineral oil products do present certain risks of use, mostly from inhalation of the fumes but also they can cause allergic reactions if applied directly to the skin. There is also the risk of absorption through the skin. Be aware of these risks and take proper precautions if you must use these.
Here is a great PDF comparison on the use and risks of artist solvents.



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Good Coloring Deals on Prismacolor Colored Pencils!

Couple of great deals on Amazon today for Prismacolor Colored Pencils!
132 Set, PRISMACOLOR PREMIERE SOFT CORE COLORED PENCILS $92.99 (regularly  $180!):

I bought the 132 pack a few years ago and paid way more (insert sad imoji here.) Wish I'd been able to get this deal on the larger set here. Prismacolors are my favorite colored pencils, I do a lot of my illustrations with them and plow through them pretty quickly.  I order individual replacement pencils, of course, but I admit to being addicted to brand new sets, so I'm always checking out prices. I also love their storage tins, lol.
150 Set, PRISMACOLOR PREMIERE SOFT CORE COLORED PENCILS
$154.95 (regularly  $300+!):

Great deals, especially if you have Amazon Prime.
(I am an Amazon affiliate so, yes, I do get a buck or two if you buy from my links - which means if enough do I can order more pencils too, lol.)
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Good Deal On Coloring Supplies on Amazon

This looks like a good deal on Amazon for trying out different #coloring mediums. Probably not the highest quality, but the box alone is worth the price and you could replace the tools with higher-quality ones after you use them.

This would be great for kids too. Keep Calm & Color On!

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Next Adult Coloring Book? Greyscale Inspirational Women!

This is the next Coloring Book I am currently working on! Greyscale images from my years of creating women's pop art style faces and masks.
Included on each image is an original inspirational poem or quote on women, coloring and life to encourage everyone to live a colorful and fulfilled life.
I have quite a few more to do before I can publish the book, hope to have it done by next month and for sale on Amazon along with my other coloring books!
Just wanted to keep you in the loop on my coloring page design activity!
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