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Lost Ocean Artist’s Edition is illustrated by Johanna Basford and published and kindly sent to me to review by Virgin Books. This book contains 24 of the original images from the Lost Ocean colouring book all printed single-sided. The book is 25x33cm, paperback with thick card covers with beautiful gold foiling accents on the cover and blue text on the spine. The book has a lay-flat binding meaning there is no spine to contend with and that you can reach the whole image to colour it. The pages are all removable, they’re not perforated so there’s no risk of them not being fully perforated and you ripping a page when trying to remove it, they’re all glued onto the spine in the same way as postcard books so they’re easy to remove if you wish but they’re not stuck very strongly and in the process of colouring my page I’ve managed to detach nearly half of the pages so this book won’t stay together unless you’re extremely careful with it. The removable nature of the pages is ideal for two reasons, firstly, its main purpose, which is so that they can be displayed, framed, or gifted to friends or family so your colouring is no longer destined to stay hidden away in a book; secondly, it makes it much easier to colour if you remove the page first – the book is very large when fully open which makes it difficult to colour on your lap or even on a clipboard because it’s over A3 size when opened, but when you remove the page you can turn it to any angle you please so that you can colour each section easily without having to have your hand hanging off one corner or be rubbing over previously coloured areas and accidentally smudging bits. The pages are made of thick card which will hold up to just about any colouring medium (this is the same card as used in the Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest Artist’s Editions). I tested my Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners and they didn’t even shadow onto the back and they also didn’t bleed sideways or into the card, they seemed to glide on top instead of saturating the paper like so often happens with thick pages. The card is cream which I know isn’t everyone’s favourite, however, I love it because it makes it feel like a classic book with age and luxury. It also means there’s a less harsh contrast between the colouring and the background if you leave the background uncoloured and also allows you to easily add white as highlights or as a colour where white paper simply doesn’t.
The images included are from the original Lost Ocean book and I think they’re a really good selection. There aren’t any pattern or filler images this time and they’re all definitely frame-worthy. Of the 24 illustrations, 5 are landscape and the others are portrait orientation, 3 are printed smaller than the original illustrations but the others are all printed larger to varying degrees from 4mm to the largest being the skull at an extra 7cm larger, 5 of the images are taken from double-page spreads where a section has generally been enlarged (a couple have been shrunk but not drastically so) and the rest are from single page spreads. Because the majority of the images have been enlarged, at least a little bit, they mostly have larger spaces to colour which allows you to really go to town and the possibilities for blending and shading are increased. If you’re new to using pencils and want to learn about blending and shading then the slightly larger print would be ideal for practising these techniques.
As with all of the Artist’s Editions, this book doesn’t have a treasure hunt aspect. The Secret Garden Artist’s Edition arrived wrapped in thin plastic film, but this one didn’t, however that may be because it’s a review copy so do be aware that it may have plastic film on it in the shop and you may not be able to look through it in stores, this means that the cover is well protected and won’t be at risk of staining or marking which I personally think is pretty sensible, though it’s a shame they didn’t do a preview on the back of what images are included. Because of this, I have included pictures of all of the images from inside the book below so that you can “see inside” before you buy it, as well as comparing the size to the original images.
In terms of mental health, this book is wonderful. Colouring this book ready to review it has provided countless hours of calming distraction and the card is such a joy to colour that I’ve enjoyed every moment of colouring it and was almost disappointed when I finally finished my picture and had to move onto another review. This is a book where you really don’t notice the hours passing because you’re so engrossed and focused on colouring each section. Johanna’s books are not for the faint-hearted and are quite an undertaking and they’re not for those of you with poor eyesight or challenged fine motor control. However, for anyone who is mentally ill and doesn’t have poor eyesight, this book is ideal because not only are the images stunning but they’re also completely grounded in nature which is perfect for calming you down and relaxing you. When colouring these images, it feels like you’re going on a wonderful adventure into Johanna’s Lost Ocean, the journey is less obvious but the images are printed in the same order as they appear in the book so it does have a feeling of flow. It’s sure to lift your mood and focus your thoughts so that even the most racing of minds will be quietened, at least for a short while. The details and intricacies force you to concentrate and become immersed in a watery world filled with brightly coloured fish and enchanting sea creatures and you’re sure to feel your anxiety lessen and your dark thoughts soften a little. It’s by no means a cure, but this is a fabulous book for distraction and the fact that you can remove the pages and display them means that all of your hard work and creativity can be prominently displayed and used to brighten up your darker days and remind you that you can create beautiful things which I often find gives me a huge self-esteem boost.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough. If you liked Johanna’s original books or want to delve into her inky world for the first time then I’d strongly recommend purchasing it. With the best paper quality that I’ve come across in a colouring book, it contains the most stunning images and the feature of removable pages is one that I personally love because it means you can decorate your walls with your work or give wonderful, thoughtful presents to family and friends. This book exudes quality and luxuriousness from its thick card pages, to the signature gold foil accents on the front cover and the small selection of shells printed on the reverse of each picture, it is a work of art in itself and will be transformed into a masterpiece once you unleash your creativity upon it. I truly can’t enthuse enough about this book, it is a must-have and one that if you have been umming and ahhing about whether you should purchase it should be bought at once because I can just about guarantee that you won’t regret it. This book is ideal for anyone who is struggling with their mental health and anyone who just wants something truly beautiful to colour. Do check the images below to ensure the selection is one that you’re happy with and then get ordering because this is a book you definitely need in your collection, it’s gorgeous and one I can’t wait to get working on again!
If you’d like to purchase a copy of this book, it’s available here:
Amazon UK – Lost Ocean Artist’s Edition
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/Lost-Ocean-Artists-Edition-Johann-Basford/9780753548134?ref=grid-view&qid=1491572389812&sr=1-1/?a_aid=colouringitmom
The image below was coloured using Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils and blended with a Caran d’Ache blender pencil.
is published and very kindly sent to me to review by The History Press. This book is one in a huge series of what looks set to be a colouring book for every county in England as well as separate books for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I have been sent two titles of the counties I’m most familiar with, Sussex, where I’m from and live currently, and the Isle of Wight where I took holidays as a child and my mum now lives. This book is 16.5 x 24cm, landscape, paperback, with a flexible card cover with a partially coloured image from inside the book and the book has a durable glue-bound spine which a little of each borderless image is lost into, the spine does ease up a little with use. The paper is bright white, thick and lightly textured making it ideal for pencils and water-based pens which only lightly shadowed, alcohol markers will bleed through. The 45 images are printed single-sided and on the opposite side is the title/description of what each picture is showing which makes identification a lot easier! Each book is illustrated by a different artist and their styles can vary quite a lot judging by the differences between the two counties I have so do use the Look Inside feature on Amazon to check the books you’re looking at purchasing.
is published and was very kindly sent to me to review by Laurence King Publishing. Enchanted Forest, illustrated by Johanna Basford is one of the worldwide bestselling colouring books and with good reason – the images are stunning, beautifully detailed, tantalisingly intricate and beautifully put together. However, many of us colourers found that the spine caused a problem because some of the middle of each image was lost into it and the double-sided printing meant that those of us who wanted to use pens of any kind had to sacrifice a number of images on the reverse or resort to colouring with mediums we weren’t so keen on. These issues were taken on board by the publisher and they have responded with this Artist’s Edition.
is published by Jumped Up Publishing and was kindly sent to me to review by Kevin Knight, one of the illustrators. The book is smaller than A4 and bigger than A5, paperback, thick and heavily glue-bound so the book is quite difficult to get to lie flat though this will ease up with use. The pages are single-sided with space on the back of each for you to draw your own scenes with a written hint at the top of each one to give you ideas of what you could draw. The paper is bright white and smooth so it’s not ideal for layering with pencils and water-based pens go on smoothly but do shadow and bleed through a little but this doesn’t matter as it’s printed single-sided. The 70 images each depict a scene from the Alice in Wonderland story or a character or abstract representation of some kind and each is titled at the bottom to help you identify who’s who or what’s going on. Despite the images depicting scenes from the original story, they are not in chronological order which I personally think is a shame and unnecessary however, it makes more sense to be this way when you look at the style of the images – a lot of them are quite formulaic and very similar to each other, for example the pictures of Alice falling down the rabbit hole, there are 7 of these all with Alice in a slightly different position and with different objects such as teacups, cakes or books falling around her, but these images are all, in essence, the same. There are also 7 images of characters as playing cards and 4 images of the Mad Hatter’s tea party with various different guests attending but again, these images are all quite samey and formulaic. As a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, I had high expectations for this book and it didn’t quite live up to those. There are some really great images of the trial, the White Rabbit, the Frog and Fish Footmen, and lots of scenes from within the book, but I was left a little disappointed.
is published by Jumped Up Publishing and was kindly sent to me to review by Kevin Knight, one of the illustrators. The book is smaller than A4 and bigger than A5, paperback, thick and heavily glue-bound so the book is quite difficult to get to lie flat though this will ease up with use. The pages are single-sided with space on the back of each for you to draw your own scenes with a written hint at the top of each one to give you ideas of what you could draw. The paper is bright white and smooth so it’s not ideal for layering with pencils and water-based pens go on smoothly but do shadow and bleed through a little but this doesn’t matter as it’s printed single-sided. The 70 images each depict a scene from the story or a character or abstract representation of some kind and each is titled at the bottom to help you identify who’s who or what’s going on. Despite the images depicting scenes from the original fairy tales, they’re not completely organised into specific stories or into chronological order, there is some ordering but it’s a little vague. The stories pictured include Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and a couple of others which have small mentions. Most of the images are of scenes of the story but there are also images of axes, baskets, flowers, baked goods and more which are arranged into patterns or abstract images to break up the stories.
is published by Jumped Up Publishing and was kindly sent to me to review by Kevin Knight, one of the illustrators. The book is smaller than A4 and bigger than A5, paperback, thick and heavily glue-bound so the book is quite difficult to get to lie flat though this will ease up with use. The pages are single-sided with space on the back of each for you to draw your own scenes with a written hint at the top of each one to give you ideas of what you could draw. The paper is bright white and smooth so it’s not ideal for layering with pencils and water-based pens go on smoothly but do shadow and bleed through a little but this doesn’t matter as it’s printed single-sided. The 70 images each depict an aspect from the Sherlock Holmes books, or a character or abstract representation of some kind and each is titled at the bottom to help you identify who’s who or what’s going on. A lot of the images are quite formulaic and very similar to each other, for example the pictures of the smoking pipe, there are 7 of these all with different patterns in the smoke and slightly differently drawn pipes, but these images are all, in essence, the same. There are also 7 images of a body outline each with a different discarded murder weapon and background. In addition to this there are 7 images of characters on trains with different scenery shown through the window and 7 images of groups of objects that are evidence in cases, again, these images are all quite samey and formulaic. If you like similarity and repetition then this book is ideal but if you’re wanting 70 original and varied images then this probably isn’t the book for you. That being said, the aspects that you’d expect from the stories are depicted from Sherlock Holmes to Dr Watson, items of evidence, murder weapons, violins, deerstalker hats, pipes, magnifying glasses and more are all contained within.
is published by Blue Star and illustrated by Mark Coyle and was kindly sent to me by them to review. This book is ideal for any dragon-lovers and it really does exactly what it says, it includes loads of images of different dragons. The book itself is A4, paperback and glue-bound meaning a little of each image is lost into the spine. The illustrations are printed single-sided so there are no issues with bleeding and they are all portrait-oriented designs. The paper is bright white, medium thickness and lightly textured so it’s great for pens and pencils. The images are all drawn by one illustrator so the book has a very cohesive feel, the dragons are pictured alone, in groups, on mountains, flying, in space, and they are all drawn to look like different species, in different poses. Many are winged, some are not, some are fire-breathing, some are three-headed, some are scaly, others are smooth or horned, there really is a very wide variety so it doesn’t get boring at any point despite all 34 images being dragon-themed.
In The Midst Of Madness 