Spotlight Fan Interviews:
Thank you to all who have shared their coloring journeys with us!
Thank you to all who have shared their coloring journeys with us!
How do you use Vaseline to color? Ask Tammy, a Sasha O’Hara fan whose being coloring for years. She uses Vaseline to brighten pencil colors and to help blend pencil colors on her pages. (I'll have to try that!)
A LolliZ and Prismacolor pencil fanatic, Tammy is inspired to color by her moods; picking different pages and color combinations depending on how she is feeling. Living with chronic pain is not easy. Coloring gives her something else to focus on, which helps her deal with the pain. Additionally, Tammy has joined adult coloring groups; which help her to deal with depression she experiences.
Tammy’s favorite colors are purples and teals... sometimes with pink added into the mix! She likes to sit in an easy chair recliner in her living room, with a clipboard holding her coloring pages and a TV tray holding her pens, pencils and Vaseline. Tammy admits that once in a while she even falls asleep while coloring, only to wake up to see she’s drawn on her page while sleeping!
Featured: Tammy's colored creation of "F*ck it Frog" from Cheer the F*ck Up, An Irreverently Positive Adult Coloring Book
Jolene has been coloring for years. A busy mom of two, Jolene says coloring gives her time to herself to release her built-up frustration after she puts her children to bed.
Jolene loves to color with bright, radiant colored markers and gel pens while wrapped up in her favorite blanket. She’s a big fan of Cheer the Fuck Up and says there are so many great pages in the book that brighten her spirits. Jolene’s dream page would feature anything with the TARDIS from Doctor Who.
Jolene’s favorite coloring tip is to put blank pages behind what she’s coloring, to prevent bleed-through. She also likes to color all of one item on her page before setting it down for the night. Occasionally she forgets to pick up all her markers and her 2 year old gets into them. She either colors herself or Jolene’s finished page!
Jolene loves to color with bright, radiant colored markers and gel pens while wrapped up in her favorite blanket. She’s a big fan of Cheer the Fuck Up and says there are so many great pages in the book that brighten her spirits. Jolene’s dream page would feature anything with the TARDIS from Doctor Who.
Jolene’s favorite coloring tip is to put blank pages behind what she’s coloring, to prevent bleed-through. She also likes to color all of one item on her page before setting it down for the night. Occasionally she forgets to pick up all her markers and her 2 year old gets into them. She either colors herself or Jolene’s finished page!
“Just relax… Coloring is suppose be fun!” Erin says, while she sits at home on her couch, coloring pencils in one hand and the Netflix clicker in the other.
Erin has been coloring for just over a year now; but was a huge fan of coloring when she was a child. Calm the F*ck Down was actually the first coloring book she ever purchased! (Thank you Erin!).
Her absolute favorite color is blue, and all the shades that accompany it. Erin loves to color florals and mandalas; they help her calm down when dealing with stress and anxiety. She likes using colored pencils, and sometimes Sharpies because of the vibrant colors they add to her creations.
Featured: Erin's colored creation of "I color to hide the pain" from Cheer the F*ck Up, An Irreverently Positive Adult Coloring Book
Erin has been coloring for just over a year now; but was a huge fan of coloring when she was a child. Calm the F*ck Down was actually the first coloring book she ever purchased! (Thank you Erin!).
Her absolute favorite color is blue, and all the shades that accompany it. Erin loves to color florals and mandalas; they help her calm down when dealing with stress and anxiety. She likes using colored pencils, and sometimes Sharpies because of the vibrant colors they add to her creations.
Featured: Erin's colored creation of "I color to hide the pain" from Cheer the F*ck Up, An Irreverently Positive Adult Coloring Book
Meet Sean, a yellow, black and Sharpie fanatic! (You can say that again!) He’s been coloring for about a year and half, and was introduced to me in a group run by my dear friend Katharyne. Katharyne not only got me started producing coloring books, she got Sean started too.
Sean loves to color at his desk. He gets inspired randomly, but usually it’s because he’s bored or feeling anxious. Coloring helps his to overcome the moments when he feels too overwhelmed with depression or anxiety. Sean loves my “Hell Yeah” and “Fuck Them. Achieve Greatness” pages from Cheer the F*ck Up; but his all-time favorite book is Chill the Fuck Out. Even when Sean is coloring outside the lines, he says that the most important thing is to just be you and let your creativity flow.
Featured: Sean's colored creation of "Fuck Them. Achieve Greatness" from Cheer the F*ck Up, An Irreverently Positive Adult Coloring Book
Sean loves to color at his desk. He gets inspired randomly, but usually it’s because he’s bored or feeling anxious. Coloring helps his to overcome the moments when he feels too overwhelmed with depression or anxiety. Sean loves my “Hell Yeah” and “Fuck Them. Achieve Greatness” pages from Cheer the F*ck Up; but his all-time favorite book is Chill the Fuck Out. Even when Sean is coloring outside the lines, he says that the most important thing is to just be you and let your creativity flow.
Featured: Sean's colored creation of "Fuck Them. Achieve Greatness" from Cheer the F*ck Up, An Irreverently Positive Adult Coloring Book
“Have Fun!” says Jessica, who has always been an artist; coloring since she could ever hold a medium. A lover of all things colorful and crafts, Jessica loves decorating her house with her finished art work; which inspires her to continuously create more.
Suffering from medical issues, anxiety and depression, coloring has helped Jessica to get through even the worst of days. She’s part of a few differently weekly and monthly coloring clubs where she lives. She also totes along her coloring stuff on long trips, to ease any anxiety which may arise.
Jessica loves using as many mediums and colors as she can, and most of her artwork includes the colors of the rainbow, also known as the acronym ROY G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). She loves my pages which make her laugh including “Life is Short. Smile while you still have teeth" and others that she can relate to like, “I color to hide the pain.” Her dream page would feature “Jeka the Narwhal” which is a combination of one of her favorite things; Narwhals, and her nickname “Jeka.”
Suffering from medical issues, anxiety and depression, coloring has helped Jessica to get through even the worst of days. She’s part of a few differently weekly and monthly coloring clubs where she lives. She also totes along her coloring stuff on long trips, to ease any anxiety which may arise.
Jessica loves using as many mediums and colors as she can, and most of her artwork includes the colors of the rainbow, also known as the acronym ROY G. BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). She loves my pages which make her laugh including “Life is Short. Smile while you still have teeth" and others that she can relate to like, “I color to hide the pain.” Her dream page would feature “Jeka the Narwhal” which is a combination of one of her favorite things; Narwhals, and her nickname “Jeka.”
Meet Daria, a colorist for 6 years and a fanatic of Jelly Roll Gel Pens and metallic colors! A fan of Cheer the F*ck Up, Daria says that when it comes to coloring with colored pencils, her best tip for others is to use solvent or water for blending. (Water if your pencils are water soluble and a solvent if they are not.)
Coloring has helped Daria through her eating disorder, and to come to terms with the fact that the road to recovery may take years, but that she CAN fully recover. Daria was first introduced me to me through a Facebook event, and chuckles at the fact that she can still remember the first page she ever colored of mine; the "Seriously" page. In fact, Daria says she likes to think of each artist while she colors; which inspires the colors and mediums she uses. She says each of her Sasha pages has to have “sparkle!"
Coloring has helped Daria through her eating disorder, and to come to terms with the fact that the road to recovery may take years, but that she CAN fully recover. Daria was first introduced me to me through a Facebook event, and chuckles at the fact that she can still remember the first page she ever colored of mine; the "Seriously" page. In fact, Daria says she likes to think of each artist while she colors; which inspires the colors and mediums she uses. She says each of her Sasha pages has to have “sparkle!"
Meet Christina, who has been continually coloring all of her life. A fan of nature, video games and dragons, Christina is inspired by what she loves most to color. When asking her about her favorite coloring tip she says, “Use what you already have. No matter what kind of coloring supply you have; you can still make a beautiful picture.”
Christina says that coloring has helped her to get through stressful transitions in life. She loves using purple, blue, green and black colored pencils and coloring just about anywhere, even doctor’s offices and coffee shops. Her dream page would feature a dragon with one of the following sayings: “I breathe fire,” “Shit, don’t wake me,” or “If you can’t take the heat, don’t tickle the dragon.”
Christina says that coloring has helped her to get through stressful transitions in life. She loves using purple, blue, green and black colored pencils and coloring just about anywhere, even doctor’s offices and coffee shops. Her dream page would feature a dragon with one of the following sayings: “I breathe fire,” “Shit, don’t wake me,” or “If you can’t take the heat, don’t tickle the dragon.”
“There is no right or wrong to coloring. Just have fun!” says Allison, a fan of listening to a little bit of everything from Ozzy to Yanni while she colors at her desk! A colorist for about almost 2 years, Allison finds that completing a coloring page gives her a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment while dealing with Meniere’s disease. She also says that coloring had helped her battle anxiety, depression and chronic pain.
Allison says her favorite Sasha O’Hara coloring pages include “It’s beginning to feel a lot like f*ck this” from Happy F*cking Holidays, and “Love the sh*t out of yourself” from Cheer the F*ck Up. Allison enjoys coloring with purple, pink and blue Copics, gel pens and other markers. Her dream page would feature a little bit of all her favorite things; which are mandalas, nature, fantasy and animals.
Allison says her favorite Sasha O’Hara coloring pages include “It’s beginning to feel a lot like f*ck this” from Happy F*cking Holidays, and “Love the sh*t out of yourself” from Cheer the F*ck Up. Allison enjoys coloring with purple, pink and blue Copics, gel pens and other markers. Her dream page would feature a little bit of all her favorite things; which are mandalas, nature, fantasy and animals.
Meet Lydena, a lover of Harley Davidson motorcycles, iguanas and coloring. Lydena has been coloring since she was big enough to hold a crayon. A fan of watercolor pencils, Lydena’s favorite coloring tip for others is to take a stiff brush to their watercolored page and dust off some of the color. She adds that you can also take a damp brush to your page and go over the colored areas and darken them and give them texture.
Lydena says that coloring calms her and that she loves creating beautiful artwork. It has helped her through a stroke and a MS relapse, along with some other health issues. She even brings her coloring supplies and coloring mediums on hospital visits to stay occupied. Her favorite Sasha O’Hara pages are “Let that sh*t go” and “It’s called karma, and it's pronounced, "Ha, Ha, f*ck you.”
"Pencils over marker have an amazing effect. And a base layer of highlighter makes colors pop!," says Juanita, a Sasha O'Hara fan who has been coloring for the past two years to help ease her chronic pain and relax.
Juanita is a fan of coloring in the early morning while everyone sleeps, so it's not so ironic that her favorite color is the color of the sunrise, yellow, and one of the reasons this lemon page she created is one of her all time favorites. She also says that she has a purple curse, which really means that every single time she uses the color purple she ends up completely ruining her page! (I see some purple in this page and it looks damn good, if you ask me! )
Juanita likes to color with markers and says that her favorite Sasha O'Hara book is Peace, Love and F*cking Happiness. Her dream page would feature a mandala made of inspirational words.
Juanita is a fan of coloring in the early morning while everyone sleeps, so it's not so ironic that her favorite color is the color of the sunrise, yellow, and one of the reasons this lemon page she created is one of her all time favorites. She also says that she has a purple curse, which really means that every single time she uses the color purple she ends up completely ruining her page! (I see some purple in this page and it looks damn good, if you ask me! )
Juanita likes to color with markers and says that her favorite Sasha O'Hara book is Peace, Love and F*cking Happiness. Her dream page would feature a mandala made of inspirational words.
Meet Erica, a gal who makes her own crayons! How cool is that? Erica has been coloring off and on since she was a child and has recently started coloring more to relieve stress. She says that coloring is very relaxing for her, especially when she gets to color swear words! (Hallelujah and Amen to that Erica!)
Erica finds serenity in coloring when she's feeling overwhelmed or when things just feel like they are too much to handle. She says her mood usually inspires her coloring. Her favorite coloring utensils are a little bit of everything: gel pens, sharpies, colored pencils, and crayons.
Erica loves to color on road trips and in her bedroom. Even though she's a fan of the color pink, she says that when pictures are highly detailed she likes to use every color in the pack. (Hell Yeah!)
"My favorite coloring tip for others is to outline the picture first and then color it from the outside in. And if there's a background, color that first," says Erica. Her dream page would feature the words "F*ck You Epilepsy." and "Myasthenia Gravis".
Erica finds serenity in coloring when she's feeling overwhelmed or when things just feel like they are too much to handle. She says her mood usually inspires her coloring. Her favorite coloring utensils are a little bit of everything: gel pens, sharpies, colored pencils, and crayons.
Erica loves to color on road trips and in her bedroom. Even though she's a fan of the color pink, she says that when pictures are highly detailed she likes to use every color in the pack. (Hell Yeah!)
"My favorite coloring tip for others is to outline the picture first and then color it from the outside in. And if there's a background, color that first," says Erica. Her dream page would feature the words "F*ck You Epilepsy." and "Myasthenia Gravis".
Meet Katie, a "Chill the F*ck Out" fan who says that the world around her inspires her to dream big with her imagination and coloring techniques. A life long coloring enthusiast, Katie has especially enjoyed coloring in adult coloring books the past few years. She says that coloring helps her cope with depression, grief, anxiety and panic attacks.
A fanatic of neon & fluorescent colors, fuchsia, and cerulean (that's a deep blue for all of you newbies), Katie loves to color with her gel pens at home alongside her fiancee. Katie's latest exciting coloring adventure has included using the grayscale coloring technique. She admits that she is now a big fan and that she even has a favorite grayscale artist; Bennett Klein. Her biggest coloring fiasco happened when she got a little too carried away adding a patch of grass to one of her colored creations. By trying to fix her page, she just made it worse and worse. Although Katie says, "" There are no mistakes, only happy accidents."
A fanatic of neon & fluorescent colors, fuchsia, and cerulean (that's a deep blue for all of you newbies), Katie loves to color with her gel pens at home alongside her fiancee. Katie's latest exciting coloring adventure has included using the grayscale coloring technique. She admits that she is now a big fan and that she even has a favorite grayscale artist; Bennett Klein. Her biggest coloring fiasco happened when she got a little too carried away adding a patch of grass to one of her colored creations. By trying to fix her page, she just made it worse and worse. Although Katie says, "" There are no mistakes, only happy accidents."