For all the adults who ask for a kids menu just so they can color, there’s good news: There are entire coloring books just for grown ups, and they’re gaining popularity, with two adult coloring books currently topping Amazon’s bestseller lists.
The recent release of illustrator Johanna Basford’s second coloring book for adults, entitled Enchanted Forest, received a flurry of publicity, aligning with recent research suggesting that adults benefit from play breaks. Similar creative outlets for adults have cropped up in various parts of the world, including an adult preschool, an adult ball pit, and laughter clubs.
Psychologists told the Huffington Post that, by engaging multiple parts of the brain, coloring allows us to focus on the lines, movements, and colors in front of us, use our imaginations and be creative, and de-stress.
As Basford told NPR:
I think there’s something quite charming and nostalgic about coloring in. And chances are last time you picked up pens or pencils you didn’t have a mortgage or like a really horrible boss or anything. So yeah, it’s just a really nice way to be creative. You don’t have to sit down with a blank sheet of paper or, you know, have that scary moment of thinking, ‘What can I draw?’
The work of coloring book aficionados can be quite captivating. Basford asks users to post their finest works on her website, and here are some of the results, either from Enchanted Garden or her first adult coloring book, Secret Garden:
