Colouring has been present in my life for almost 10 years now. As life goes, I had some challenges in my personal life and needed a happy activity to help me relax and rebuild. I’m a Visual Artist by training, and I had a big stop block. All my current paintings were unfinished, and I could not paint anymore, thinking about all the rules and demands of the Art scene and all the criticism and stress that come with it. Colouring was a sunny window in all that because I could do what I wanted in those book pages, using my creativity without rules. and there was nothing “wrong” or “bad.” Colouring brought me a lot of freedom and mindfulness because there are no expectations: it’s simple and light.

In those days, I was on Twitter a lot, and all I could see there was this unpleasant vibe of people attacking each other, insulting each other, and spending lots of time and energy on criticism and destruction. I could not see anything positive there, so I left. I then went to Facebook to connect with colouring groups and art activities because I wanted to be in a space where people only exchanged positivity. Most groups are awesome, and I’ve found tons of good people and wonderful exchanges there, but sometimes I could still see negativity sneaking through and people being mean to each other for no reason at all.

That made me pause, and I decided to create this blog—a safe place online where only pleasant colours and positivity were present. I wanted to post constructive, interesting topics about art and colours, a little corner on the web where visitors and I could be sure that when we enter this timespace, we are safe from negativity: we can relax and enjoy art. I’ve also created a new presence online, using social media only to share pleasant images and positive words, connecting to others with the same interests and energy.

Through the years, I keep coming back to colouring as a very effective resource to help me in moments when life seems to throw way more than I can handle. I have tried different activities for those moments, and most of them do not fully disconnect my mind from stress.

Once, a friend suggested knitting, her favourite hobby and anxiety relief technique. This girl brings her crochet knitting kit everywhere, and I love to see her creating patterns and shapes with dexterity while we chat and relax. I wanted to do that too! She helped me start, gave me the guidelines, and…well, 😂 it was a big fiasco 😂😂😂 It happens that knitting makes me very stressed! I tend to forget the steps, the line gets entangled in everything, and I have no fun at all.

I tried to do like my friend, knitting in a public place, and it was impossible—my mind would wander about getting entangled and causing an epic, or hopefully just comic, accident in the bistro. It’s funny to write about it now, but knitting is no joke 😂!

For me, colouring is a great choice because I’m able to forget about everything else while my mind gets busy with colours, pencils, books, and shapes to complete. The result is very therapeutic and wholesome because I can take a complete break from whatever pain in the neck I have at that moment. This allows me to realign my thoughts and recharge my batteries. After a while, with renewed energy and a clear perspective, I’m in a better place to solve the daily quests of life and face the challenges that come with it.

Some say colouring is just a wave that will soon be forgotten, but I don’t think that’s true. It may change and adapt to times and technology—but just like knitting, creating art with colours has been present in human lives since we became human.

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