Why my fingers hurt like hell recently

Some of the coloring stuff that I use
The watercolors are actually R's.
I still don't trust myself with a paintbrush.

If you've seen any of my notebooks, or just any sheet of paper that I've written on, you'll notice that I write very forcefully. I always wear out ballpoints because I press on them heavily on the page. In fact, my writing is still  legible on the 3rd or 4th sheet of paper underneath the sheet I wrote on. So calluses, man. Calluses.

Come Saturday morning, I wake up in anticipation to something I last did 30 years ago. Never did I expect that I would get addicted to coloring. It has become a hobby, nay, an obsession recently. It's an obsession that extends to retail therapy. I now have more than enough colored pencils, markers, pens, and coloring books to last me a year.

I know that I have to get this compulsive buying of art supplies in check. After all, it takes me 2 hours to completely color a plate. So on a good day, I can do at least two. Saturdays are good days. Weekdays, not so much. Sundays are a pain. Literally. My fingers kill me every Sunday morning. Shame on me for subjecting them to 4 hours of intense activity. And then add the fact that, like the way I write, I also color with forceful abandon. The sharpener has become my best friend.

So that's the way it is during weekends. Saturdays are for all the coloring shiz. Sundays are for reading. Just enough time to have my fingers recover and let them help me do money-making stuff on the weekdays (i.e., work).

Last Saturday's get-together turned into an impromptu coloring party.
I printed out some sheets to color and brought loads of colored pencils.
See, there is an activity that does not require WI-FI.

It can get really intense.
I believe this was already early evening, just before dinner.
Even the kids joined in the "adult" coloring activities.

Here's R not coloring.
We agreed that he should draw something that I can color.
And I can probably use it as my blog's masthead!

If you haven't tried out coloring, you're missing out on a lot. In more ways than one actually. You miss out on the hours that you exercise another part of your brain (as R said, which I imagine that part to be rainbow-colored). You also miss out on not thinking about work, not making mindless talk to the person nearest you, not eating (so messy to be doing both!), not even farting (can't recall farting and coloring at the same time).

It's very FREEING.

And it needn't be an expensive hobby, provided you keep your impulse buying proclivities in check. There are lots of free coloring plates available online. I like the ones found here and here. I'm still looking for the Secret Garden coloring book though. It's the one that started all this wonderful craze, and the plates are just beautiful. Anyway, here are some of the sheets I colored recently.

I challenged myself to use just 3 colors for this one.
Not too happy with the blue though. It's way too dark to be seen.
I'll stick to more pastel-y colors next time I use markers.

This is from the Vintage Patterns book.
Probably one of the easiest plates in this book.
Easy = 1.5 hours

Should've made a pattern on this one, no?
Like a heart or a shape or whatever. But still pretty to look out.
I left one person uncolored. Can you spot it?

And here's proof on how hard I press on the colored pencils.
See how the pages have warped on the blue areas?
R helped me choose the colors on this one.

And what have I been reading? Two novels: a contemporary novel and a less-known classic. I saw Edan Lepucki's California last Friday and just need to have it. I read 200 pages in white heat yesterday. It's that good! The classic is by Elizabeth Von Armin, and it's one of her more famous works, Elizabeth and Her German Garden. My first Von Armin read was Enchanted April, and I've been, ummm, enchanted with her works ever since.

This is how you do post-apocalyptic fiction.
And no zombies! How refreshing!

Look at how Von Armin showed two owls "talking."
So charming!