2017 has been loaded with art and history at Castle View Academy! It’s made for a creative and informative year, and the year’s not over yet! How wonderful it is to bring the two interests together with Beautiful Women: Japanese Prints Coloring Book.
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In the past I’ve really enjoyed two other wood block print coloring books by Tuttle Publishing: Floating World, and In a Japanese Garden, so when they asked if I’d be interested in having a sneaky preview of Beautiful Women, I could hardly refuse! In fact, I was very ready for some ‘forced’ relaxation as the summer had been packed full of activities with the children more than usual and I needed a little time to regroup.
This book arrived the day before I watched the kids’ ju-jitsu class in which they donned boxing gloves and spent the hour doing a few drills before sparring; and some of the kids really go all out! Now, my children each had a few good jabs in as well, but like most parents, I’m not a fan of seeing my children take a blow and I was wishing I’d brought this book with me to use as a personal distraction!
I have been taking this book along with me on the train, too. I simply place it in a plastic zip case to keep it tidy and dry should the rain seep through my backpack cover.
After our most recent art class that I’d taken with the children, I was up for the challenge of Beautiful Women. In the past I was a bit intimidated by the big, open backgrounds in the woodblock prints because I didn’t know how to make them uniform and not look like just a bit kid’s mess.
This time I wanted to try different techniques and mediums to experiment a little. Why stick with pencil crayons and markers when there’s a whole world of colour options waiting?
Great Features in the Beautiful Women Japanese Prints Coloring Book
- 22 images of Japanese women from all classes and walks of life participating in everyday activities over the past 200 years or so.
- Perforated pages so it’s easy to take out a page to colour on a flat surface or use as a piece of art on the wall when it’s complete.
- On the opposing page to each colouring page is a full-colour copy of the original print so you know what it looked like when done by the original artist.
- Before each print in the book, you will learn a little about the author and the print. This makes each image more interesting and meaningful.
- There is also some additional information about Japanese fashion over the years.
Of course, I knew that I would never have an image as gorgeous as the original artists in this book, but it’s fun to try and use your own style, modern tools, and your own skills to see what you can create.
So….how did I do?
Working through these Tuttle woodblock print colouring books has really inspired me and I will be attending a class next month to learn how to properly paint in this style! I’m looking forward to seeing what I can then do with these books in combination with my new skills.
If you’d like to know more or would like to follow Tuttle Publishing, you can connect with them through their website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest (and you can see our other Tuttle reviews here).
If you’re interested in purchasing this book or similar ones from Tuttle, here are some handy links for you:
