Cats and Coloring: Redux

From Color Cats 2 by Margaret Gates Root.

Since my original post back in November, the number of cat-themed coloring books has soared.

The more I color, the more I love to color and the more I learn about the different mediums – blending, shading, and mixing them, and how they appear on different kinds of paper.

There’s a pile of coloring books next to my computer and I keep glancing at them longingly while I work. My coloring time is usually reserved for a couple of hours in the evening while I’m watching TV.

The Cat Colorings Facebook page has an exhaustive list of cat-themed coloring books with links to their ordering information. Of course, there’s a large community of people sharing their completed art and works in progress, and information about all the newest books.

Color Cats Book 2: Literary Reference Edition

The number of my own cat-themed books keeps growing – 10 at last count – and I have to restrain myself from clicking on the ubiquitous Amazon One-Click. But I do. I just got Margaret Gates Root’s “Color Cats Book 2: Literary Reference Edition.” Each drawing has clues to a poem or saying about cats – and they’re not simple! I do love Book One, which consists of realistic looking cats in everyday settings. A nicely textured paper makes coloring with pencils a delight.

In the meantime, I’ve been delving into “Mystical Cats in Secret Places”  by Honoel, a

Mystical Cats in Secret Places by Honoel.

mind-boggling collection of two-sided detailed drawings, more than 80 in all. Someone along the line described the book as “Creative Haven’s Creative Cats” on steroids. “Creative Cats” was one of the first cat-themed books that really took off back in 2015. That’s eons ago in terms of the adult coloring boom.

I can’t help but wonder if the artist of Mystical Cats may have been wiser to break the book into two single-sided volumes to accommodate markers, which have a tendency to bleed through. Although the paper is heavy, I don’t want to take that risk. So, I’ve used a variety of pencils and gel pens, which work just fine. Glitter pens in particular add a wonderful pop to the artwork.

From Mystical Cats in Secret Places by Honoel.

From Wild About Cats.

“Wild About Cats: Color Your Way to Calm with CD” is a collection of drawings without any particular artistic theme or artist attribution, which I find a bit concerning. Some are realistic and some are more whimsical and abstract. The paper is quite smooth and works especially well with harder pencils such as Marco Raffines and Staedler Noris Clubs. Must admit that I haven’t listed to the DC yet.

Cat artist extraordinaire Bernadette Kazmarski has

Creative Cat Coloring Book by Bernadette Kazmarski.

produced a sweet little book of line art cat drawings, “Creative Cat Coloring Book,” to be used with watercolor pencils, which can be supplied as part of the order. The book is only 4.25 x 5.5 inches, spiral-bound at the top, and printed on heavy stock “that can take a beating.” Bernadette offers a variety of suggestions for doing the art in addition to the watercolor pencils.

From Creative Cat Coloring Book.

I’m a newbie when it comes to watercolor pencils, but this medium lends itself to the free form nature of Bernadette’s designs. The intensity of the color depends on how much water is on the tip of the pencil. It’s another medium I’ll pursue.

This is the tip of the iceberg – books that I have purchased recently and enjoyed. Several more are on my Amazon wish list (along with the 120-count set of Faber Castell polychromos – sigh). Do go through the list. If you follow the authors on their websites or Facebook pages, they often offer pages to download and color for personal use.

From Creative Cat Coloring Book.

Coloring is something that’s as simple or as detailed as you wish. There are various online tutorials that compare different pencils and techniques for blending and shading. And if you love cats, coloring is another way to express your devotion.