Hey, watch the colouring book, the ink’s drying. No, it’s mine, actually – nearly done, I just need to find another five or six hours to do this tricky bit on the owl. It’s so therapeutic, you should try it. I’d say join our colouring book club, except you might want to practise a little first. Maybe start off with some dot-to-dot? People always underestimate how hard it is to stay inside the lines, before you even get to the shading part. Though, of course, the whole point is to de-stress and enjoy yourself – it’s just so incredibly calming, everyone says it’s like being a child again. Once you’ve got a bit of technique. And the right pencils, obviously.
Right, you could use the kids’, but you’ll need a proper set for really vibrant colours, and for blending – see how I’ve done the wings on the baby unicorn here? Thanks, I was colouring all last night, so relaxing. Probably £70 a tin. More like £200, if you want work you’re going to feel proud of. See this stained-glass toadstool? No, sorry, you can’t have a go. You’ll understand when you start, it’s a creative thing.
And you’ll need gel pens. Markers are OK to start with, but you can’t shade, plus they bleed through the paper, which is so upsetting. I’m not saying they’re not great for jewel colours, mind: here’s an elephant I did when I was starting off. No, that part’s meant to be white, please leave it, no, I’m afraid you’ll just have to get your own book.
So when you’ve got your fineliners, plus a good pencil sharpener and eraser, some gel pens and maybe a lovely pencil case to keep everything in, you just pick a book – right now, everyone’s mad about the Enchanted Rock Pool, though I’m warning you it took me a week. The merman scales are incredibly intricate. When you’ve finished? You just start another one. It’s wildly addictive, especially the mindfulness ones. Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get that owl out of the way before the children get home and ruin it.
