Not just child’s play: Coloring books for adults take off

Every now and then, when her kids are reading or busy with their own activities, Jennifer Whitcomb grabs a spot at the kitchen table, gets out her crayons and starts coloring.

“I like the fact that it just kind of takes your mind off of things that are going on around you,” said Whitcomb, 36, a kindergarten teacher in Maize.

“It’s a nice, quiet time.”

Coloring – a pastime once reserved for preschoolers and kids in waiting rooms – has grown up. Retailers across the country report that coloring books and related implements are hot sellers among adults, who say the hobby helps them relax, be creative and recapture the simple pleasures of childhood.

“It’s really an exploding trend right now,” said Iris Rigg, manager of the Barnes & Noble bookstore in northeast Wichita.

“I think people just find it very therapeutic and relaxing, a way of relieving stress,” she said. “It’s an easy and fun thing to do. You don’t have to be a talented artist or be able to draw or even stay in the lines if you don’t want to.”

‘Enjoy it’

Several Wichita-area retailers, including Watermark Books and Best of Times gift shop, said the trend seemed to take off a few months ago, when a story about British artist Johanna Basford was broadcast on National Public Radio and shared widely on social media. The books feature intricate pen-and-ink drawings to color, along with hidden objects and mazes.

Basford’s books, “Secret Garden” and “Enchanted Forest,” are in such high demand that stores can’t keep them on the shelves. Even Amazon is out of stock and waiting on backorders.

Meanwhile, other artists and publishers have jumped on the trend. A display table at Barnes & Noble features more than a dozen coloring books for grownups, including ones that feature paisley patterns, flowers, birds, tattoos, cityscapes, mid-century modern patterns and mandalas – Hindu or Buddhist symbols representing the universe, which are said to aid in meditation.

Unlike the kids’ coloring books sold at toy or discount stores, books geared toward adults have thicker pages that are printed on only one side. That allows grownup artists to use markers, pencils, watercolors or other tools without worrying about bleed-through. Prices range from less than $5 to more than $15.

A current best-seller, “Adult Coloring Book: Stress-Relieving Patterns,” includes a page of instructions labeled “How to Use This Book”:

“If you notice at any point that you are forgetting your worries, daydreaming freely or feeling more creative, curious, excitable, delighted, relaxed or a combination thereof, take a deep breath and enjoy it,” it says.

“Remind yourself that coloring, like dancing or falling in love, does not have a point. It is the point.”

Cognitive therapy

For Peggy Ford of Wichita, daily coloring sessions are a strategy for dealing with her fibromyalgia, a medical condition characterized by frequent, widespread pain.

During a recent pain rehabilitation program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., doctors and therapists urged Ford to consider coloring as a way to relax.

“Any time you can be creative, that’s a distraction from the pain,” said Ford, 58. Mandalas, in particular, are effective, she said, because the patterns are circular. Gradually adding color from the inside out – or from the outside toward the middle – is a calming, centering, meditative activity, she said.

“So that’s the thing: I do it every night for an hour before I go to sleep. It calms my mind, which calms my pain, which calms my anxiety, and it puts me in a better place for falling asleep.”

Since starting her nightly coloring routine last month – along with yoga, tai chi and regular exercise – Ford has stopped taking 10 medications, including pain medication and sleep aids, she said. She also lost 28 pounds, is more active, “and I sleep better than I ever did before,” she said.

“There’s a lot more to it than just the picture that you color.”

Awakening your inner child

Patty Kirkpatrick, a 29-year-old music teacher, knows the feeling.

One day several months ago, while panicking about car repairs in the waiting room of an auto shop, Kirkpatrick’s husband handed her a coloring book and crayons from the kids’ play area.

“He was like, ‘Here, color.’ And I was like, ‘OK,’” she said. “And it made me less stressed out.

“So when I saw these coloring books (for adults) come out, I thought, ‘I should do that.’”

Now Kirkpatrick colors regularly, usually in the evenings while watching TV or while her husband reads. She uses Stabilo pens or Derwent Inktense pencils, which she loves for their vivid colors.

“I like how I can be creative without having to think too hard about it,” she said. “The basic structure is already there, and I just color it in.”

The results, though, can be stunning. Kirkpatrick’s version of a fox from a page in Basford’s “Secret Garden” is a fiery symphony of reds, oranges, golds and yellows, carefully blended and shaded.

“I used to do a lot of graphic work, so that’s why I like this,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m under pressure, yet I can still be creative.”

Whitcomb, the kindergarten teacher, said she rediscovered coloring during a recent family vacation to Colorado. Her 10-year-old daughter, Morgan, loves art activities, so the mother and daughter searched Pinterest for coloring pages, printed out dozens at the in-laws’ house and spent part of each day at the table coloring.

“It’s something quiet to do, with nothing in the background,” Whitcomb said. “It’s just relaxing and peaceful, and we can talk about stuff.”

Several pages ended up on Grandma’s fridge.

“The kids were like, ‘Mom, that’s so pretty. Good job!’ It cracked me up,” she said. “They respect my coloring skills.”

When the family returned from vacation, Whitcomb bought several coloring books just for herself – though she does share pages with Morgan and others, if asked – and continues the hobby regularly at home. She opts for colored pencils, old-school Crayola crayons or Twistables crayons, which don’t break like the regular ones.

“I’m still a crayon girl,” she said. “I like the smell. It takes me back.”

Rigg, the bookstore manager, said she joined the trend recently herself, completing several pages from “Creative Coloring Inspirations,” by Valentina Harper.

“It’s very nostalgic,” Rigg said.

“I think that a lot of customers find that it’s a way of awakening your inner child, and I think that’s wonderful. It’s a wonderful, nostalgic thing for people to bring back into their lives.”

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Not just child’s play: Coloring books for adults take off."