I am definitely a member of the slow colorists club. I don’t like the feeling of rushing towards the completion of a coloring. It’s the timeless feeling of coloring each little shape that gives me the greatest coloring pleasure.
Years ago, I noticed that I often colored one shape while thinking ahead to what colors I might use on the next. Lots of doing, but mind always on fast forward – thinking about possibilities instead of the reality of the present moment.
It was really challenging for me to bring so much attention to the present shape, watching each little sweep of the marker tip changing the color, patiently observing the tiny shape transform from empty to full of color without my mind drifting off to other thoughts. Coloring is a great time to quietly let thoughts come and go, but it feels extra refreshing to let a portion of my coloring be a time that has no thinking at all – just gentle awareness.
Slow, calm, gentle aware coloring feels really good. It makes it quite easy to let go of the expectations you might have for your finished coloring picture – and that lets you color very freely and enjoy whatever surprises may pop up.
This may look like a partially colored picture, but it holds an entire evening of wonderfully slow, quiet, restorative coloring. Just 80 little shapes colored so far – but each one was a delight! (Today’s coloring is from Balance For Crayons And Wide Tipped Markers.)
***A few additional thoughts:
It seems that the more I color, the slower I get. I guess that shouldn’t be any surprise – I’ve always been the sort of person who looks at details, and then once I can see all the details keep on looking to see if there are more itty bitty details to discover. In a big world full of stuff, I’m a fan of the small things.
There’s always a lot of prompts at hand to encourage us to move faster and faster. Clocks, watches, activities that have to be scheduled, etc. I find that I’m at my least productive, least organized and most stressed if I am coming up on a deadline. It doesn’t even have to be a real deadline, imaginary and self imposed ones work equally well. There is often the underlying impression that time is in very short supply.
Slow coloring is a way to put on the brakes – allowing me to settle into a very gentle pace and be better prepared to resist letting all of life’s “Hey! Speed up and do more!” signals dictate my activities and attention.