Island Escape & Rainforest Escape by Jade Gedeon

Jade Gedeon is a US born, Trinidad raised designer who created We Dream in Colour, a Boston based jewellery design company. These two books are her first foray into the colouring world, showcasing her amazing talents as an illustrator with an overarching theme of the exotic & tropical landscapes that have shaped her life.

Island Escape takes us to the vibrant world of the Caribbean, filled with ocean vistas, hidden beaches, undulating palm fronds and a nature-filled, sun-soaked paradise.

Rainforest Escape is inspired by the rich plant and animal life of Trinidad & Tobago, encapsulating the indigenous creatures that inhabit the thick fauna and the strikingly plush florals that burst with colour among the greenery. 

​Jade's hand-drawn style is exactly what most colourists look for: imperfect, non-digital illustrations which flow from pen & ink as opposed to clinical, faultless lines. 
​My usual slideshow of images just doesn't do this book justice as there are lots of fold-out pages included, so click below to check out flipthroughs of the books in their entirety.

click here to see video flip throughs on youtube

There is one stand-out feature of the books that make them totally different from most other colouring books on the market- the paper. Jade has selected beautifully thick watercolour paper which has a coarse, absorbent tooth for pens, paint and other wet media. Not only this, but each and every page is perforated for easy removal, as well as being single sided so bleed is never an issue. It's fantastic to see such a well-made colouring book that uses such high quality paper stock.

The paper naturally makes the book quite heavy and substantial (2cm thick to be exact), feeling more like a luxury tome of unique illustrations than 'just another colouring book'. With this in mind, the books are extremely reasonably priced at around £11 each. Another feature of the books is the perfect lay-flat binding, meaning you don't need to wrestle with a restrictive spine when colouring. Overall, Jade has made some very considerate choices in giving the colourist a really high quality and special book.

Here are my finished pages from both books, coloured with Sakura Koi Brush Pens in a watercolour style.

Island Escape

Rainforest Escape

You can find the books on Amazon here:
Island Escape by Jade Gedeon
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And The Book Depository here:
Rainforest Escape by Jade Gedeon