ELLE – Between the Line: A Coloring Book of Drawings by Contemporary Artists

 In another life, I could have been an amazing artist (or: a concert pianist, a gymnast, a downhill skier, a dancer, or zoologist), but a chronic lack of interest in practice and technique in favor of pleasurable free-handing led me to be one who just “dabbles.” Still, I owe any and all interest in drawing and painting to the very basic exercise of coloring. As in, a coloring book, a box of crayons, and my adherence—or lack there of—to the palette of the world. I still remember my older brother sitting me down at age 4 and teaching me how to color, instructing me to outline the object first, then color it in so I could better stay in the lines. That tiny bit of know-how was instrumental in the many accolades and awards I received for my coloring skills in the early years of elementary school.

Twenty-years later, RxArt is allowing me to indulge, once again, that small, almost Zen-like luxury of simply coloring, albeit on a more adult level. Now in its second volume, Between the Line: A Coloring Book of Drawings by Contemporary Artists is available to those adults who have since forgotten how joyous filling in a colorless image can be. With drawings by forty-eight artists including Takashi Murakami, Adam McEwen, Aurel Schmidt, and fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, there’s a picture and a style for any artistic taste—there’s even a few pages of stickers to play around with. I took the first picture in the book by McEwan and had a go on my lunch break. She’s got blue skin and green hair, but so what? I stayed in the lines, didn’t I? My older brother would be proud.

Both volumes of the contemporary artist coloring books are available online, or in the RxArt store at 208 Forsyth Street, New York, NY 10002 (212.260.8797).

— Seth Plattner, Assistant Editor