The world of color is so huge and it’s nice to look back as the days and reminisce of how it all started. And it all started with the crayon.

This article was from an interview I did for the Charlotte Observer and wanted to share it in full with you. Come read about how coloring books are just a little more than recreational fun.  

1. When did you start coloring (as an adult)? 

I always colored from the time I could hold a crayon but I officially bought my first box of crayons today. My crayons! Ones that the kids couldn’t steal. I also decided to print my own coloring book too. I have a lot of line art images in my computer and they are perfect for coloring.

2. What does coloring do for your emotional/mental state?

As a Color Expert, I KNOW color plays a huge role in how we feel. This is how I choose colors for many of the homes here in Charlotte. People want the every so popular coastal colors for one reason – to relax. Whether they realize it or not, when you look at a color, subconsciously it resonates with our emotions either in a positive or negative way.

Coloring books are perfect because we can choose our own colors and it doesn’t matter if they match or if  anyone else likes them or not. In our coloring worlds, we CAN make the sky green if we want to. It’s a freedom and break from adulthood that we all need, people of all ages, men and women.

Think about it, something as simple as Adult Color Books may be the answer to stress relief in the future. Wouldn’t it be great if there were some Holistic Doctors out there that prescribed buying a coloring book and crayons instead of blood pressure medicine? Watch the trends Page, you heard it from me first 🙂

3. What coloring books do you have? Which do you like best?

As a creative person who paints and draws all the time, I decided to make my own. However, since I’m a newbie to this world of adult coloring books, I will definitely do some research and find out what the best coloring books are. Let’s just say that my Christmas list will be really easy for everyone this year AND everyone is getting a coloring book and box of 64 as well.

4. Do you finish a piece in one go, or do you work on it a bit and come back to it later?

I work from home designing color palettes for local and clients all over the county (virtually) and it gets really intense at times. I have a long, white desk in my office that has my crayons, white paper to test out the colors first and of course my coloring pages that I will eventually be taking to Kinkos to bind into a book.

I need to take breaks fairly often otherwise I’m sitting down at the computer too much so all I have to do is turn around, stand up and color. Before I know it 20 minutes passed and I’m relaxed and ready to hit the design board again. This is a hobby that will be around for quite some time AND I get to hang MY art on the fridge for a change.

5. Anything else you want to say on the topic?

I started coloring as soon as I could hold a crayon – literally. When my Mom put that first crayon in my hand I began to scribble all over the walls in my room in my house. It didn’t stop for years!

I remember as an older kid my Mom asked me “Donna, when are you going to stop coloring on the walls?”

I looked at her as if she was asking me “Donna, when are you going to stop breathing?”

“Never Mom.”

I found out that coloring on the wall in my closet was perfect. I could go in there and hide while creating masterpieces on the wall that would be hidden by my clothes. I colored in ALL the colors in the house until my hit my Grandmothers closet one day and got caught. Oh it was so good while it lasted but boy did I get in trouble but I don’t regret it one bit. I remember it like it was yesterday this doing this was the basis for who I am today.

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It’s funny. To this day I still chat with my 82 year old Mom and reminisce about the times she’d buy me coloring books, all the crayon sharpenings she find on the floor, all the walls I drew on – it just never stopped.

I remember her saying. “I don’t know Donna. I have a feeling you’re going to do something in the world of Art and Color. You just love it so much!”

I think Mom was right ❤