The Colouring Mind by Samuel Lindup

Today I'm reviewing a super cool book that might make your eyes cross a bit! It's full of overlapping illustrations and teeny micro-designs, all from the wacky & wild brain of British artist Samuel Lindup- The Colouring Mind!

The first word I thought when I looked through this book was 'CRAZY!' The title couldn't be more apt; it really is like you've unscrewed someone's skull and peered inside, or fallen into someone's dream Inception-style! Most of the designs are an amalgamation of odd shapes and random objects that don't quite fit, but when coloured transform into awesome abstract art. Some of the illustrations may seem rudimentary and quite basic on first glance, but each of them combine to make something that really gets you thinking. For example, one page has a man balancing an upside down cow atop his thumb whilst his fist grips a carving knife, which made me wonder if it was a vegetarian's metaphor for humans literally holding innocent animals' fate in their hands... or maybe it's just a meaningless drawing! 

There's a variety of sizes in the designs, ranging from a large, powerful lion chief to a page full of random items in miniature- and they really are teeny-tiny! One thing you could never say about this book is that it's boring or samey- I can pretty much guarantee you've not seen anything like this in a colouring book before. There's just so much to look at before you even put pencils to paper!

Speaking of paper, the quality is very good- I used Triplus and they didn't bleed at all, even when I pressed quite heavily to get a darker shade. The publisher tells me that my copy was only a sample version, and that the book you'd purchase has even thicker paper. It's also a hardback, which is quite unusual in the colouring book world, and a great bonus in my eyes- I won't have to look 'round for something to lean on like I usually do!

So what do you reckon... take a trip into the mind of Samuel Lindup and have fun making sense of what you find. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this unusual and brilliant colouring book! Here are my completed pages:

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. You can find it on Amazon here:

The Colouring Mind: A Colouring Book for Grown Ups