February Fan Of The Month Winners

Over time, life can become dull and mundane. We find ourselves falling into a cycle, whether it’s doing the same job over and over, consistently following a routine, eating the same diet, day in and day out. Sometimes we need to put the color back into our lives! That’s what one pf our February Fan of the Month winners, Denise Hubbard, uses our products for. Being able to Free Your Creativity can liberate you from the confines of your daily grind!

Our February Fan of the Month Winners, Denise Hubbard, Diana Gonzalez, Lori Petkovic, Charlesta Dickens, Debbie Cochran and Sharren Sattar, all made coloring a priority at some point in their lives and it resulted in some really beautiful creations. Take a look at their work down below!

Erika's Fan of the Month Pick
This is Diana Gonzalez's coloring page from our Colors of the Ocean coloring book. The detail in this creation is unbelievable! You can really tell Diana put in a lot of time in this coloring page. Erika said that she loves the colors in this and the way they all flow together. Great job, Diana!

AJ's Fan of the Month Pick
This is Denise Hubbard's coloring page from our Mythical & Fantasy coloring book. What I love most about this is the coloring technique throughout the entire page, but mainly in the clouds. Those really stand out to me! AJ says he chose this picture because it was so unique and he really loves the color scheme and shadowing. Way to go, Denise!

Audrey's Fan of the Month Pick
This is Lori Petkovic's coloring page from Around the World in 50 Pages. I chose this page because of the attention to detail, especially in the roofing and the lights that are on and off for each window. The coloring technique was very calculated and well thought out. Erika loved the bright, bold colors and the ripples in the water. Very impressive, Lori!

Randomly Selected Winner
This is Charlesta Dickens's coloring page from Mandalas Vol. 1. Erika thought Charlesta used a beautiful color combination and I could not agree more. I love the usage of white space to really tie the whole mandala together. Keep up the great work, Charlesta!

Randomly Selected Winner
This is Sharren Sattar's coloring page from Around the World in 50 Pages. I love the variation of colors and patterns in the flowers! Erika loved the colors throughout the entire page. Lovely job, Sharren!

Randomly Selected Winner
This is Debbie Cochran's coloring page from our Wild Animals coloring book. The color scheme is so fun in this page. Erika loved the way the background makes the fish pop off the page. Keep it up, Debbie!

Behind every spectacular coloring page submission that we receive, there is a talented colorist with a story. I am so happy that I have the privilege to share a special look inside Denise Hubbard and Lori Petkovic’s coloring journey. Take a look at these amazing women and what they want to share with the ColorIt Community. 

When did you first pick up a coloring book?

"I've been coloring since I was large enough to hold a fat crayon! As a child, my Father would give us big, thick coloring books, and a deal. When we finished a book, we would get a quarter and a new book. I was hooked for life! I took some ribbing during my college years, but I carried on. Today I find it as enjoyable, and calming, as ever."

"As I color primarily for its psychological and emotional benefits, my perfect atmosphere is generally one of solitude. I like to surround myself with my tools, and get into a comfortable physical place that I can maintain for hours at a time. That being said, I have one friend that I love to color with! We'll open a nice bottle of wine, chat, laugh, and color the night away."

"My creative process begins with choosing a page that speaks to me, and my mood. I tend to gravitate towards pictures with larger images that I can shape and model with shading, or enhance with unique graphics and detail. My preferred medium is alcohol markers, which do not lend themselves to small areas. Once I've chosen a subject, I usually start with a single focal point, and build my color scheme as I go, letting my feelings and internal dialogue guide me."

"At the risk of sounding cliché, coloring has added “color” to my life. Color and comfort. I periodically suffer from anxiety attacks and deep depressions. Life can feel dull and gray. When I find myself shutting down, I turn to coloring. There are no rules. No life or death decisions to be made. I can color whatever I want without fear of failure. Eventually, the joy that I feel in putting pigment to page pulls me up out of the hole, to rejoin the world around me. The pleasure that my effort gives to others reminds me that I do have something to offer, something positive to share with the ones I love."

*You have something WONDERFUL to offer, Denise! Keep sharing your gift. :)

"The beauty of coloring is that there is no right or wrong! A child can, quite literally, do it; and, they have a lot to teach us. When it comes to coloring, throw the rules out the window, and do what makes you happy. Color outside the lines. Make the grass purple and the sky green. Color in circles, or straight lines, or polk-a-dots. It matters not. Just color. Now, should you feel the need to improve your technique, for real, avail yourself of the many on-line resources for today's “adult colorists”. Sites like ColorIt offer valuable resources and instruction, much of which can be had for free. Take advantage."

"I love the selection of Mandalas found in ColorIt's volumes I and II, and I'm REALLY looking forward to the forthcoming Idiom book. I would like to see some holiday titles in the future . . . starting with Christmas and/or Halloween. That being said, I'm not a fan of the thick black outlines found in many of the books. For me, the use of thick black limits my options for defining the shapes as I choose. I hope future offerings use less of this technique."

"Fad or not, I'm thrilled that adult coloring has become the thing to do! It's popularity in our time of readily available social media has elevated the enjoyment I receive from this hobby. I love the massive sharing of resources, tools, education, and individual artistic endeavors. More, I say, more."

"Thank you for choosing me as a FOTM for February, I'm shocked and excited!! I asked for a coloring book and pencils for Christmas in 2015 and haven't stopped coloring since. I enjoy coloring with my husband doing a Sudoku and my rescue mutt, Gideon at my feet. The fact that one can color and still converse is the greatest thing, unlike reading, which I love as well. The hardest part of coloring for me is choosing a picture! Once that is done, I study the drawing and start selecting a few colors to start with, if I'm stuck on colors, I pick a leaf or flower, I know what to color those!

In December 2015, I became very ill due to alcoholic liver disease, everything was difficult to do and I was mostly in bed. When Christmas came and I got my first coloring book and Crayola pencils I was saved!! I started a mandala, which were "in" at that time and haven't looked back! On January 21, 2016, I quit alcohol cold turkey thanks to finding coloring, it calmed me and allowed me to escape the cravings. Coloring literally saved my life! I have been sober for 413 days today!! On January 21 2017 I quit cigarettes!! I am smoke free 45 days today!

***SO PROUD OF YOU LORI!!***

I was not very good at coloring when I started, I was a color inside the lines person, as time went on I poked around on the internet and found lots of tutorials, Facebook groups and other people's colorings to help me learn different ways to color. I learned to color with a "light hand" by holding pencil in the middle as opposed to near the nib, you can always darken color but hard to lighten! I also learned to NOT compare my coloring with other people's. We all color differently and there is no correct way to color!!! Just color!!

I have 4 Colorit books and my favorite so far is Around the World in 50 Pages!! Your Mandala coloring book was my first major purchase of any coloring products and has guided me to not waste time and money on cheap paper coloring books. Colorit books are super quality paper and the art is spectacular as well.

Around the World in 50 Pages is awesome in that I googled Copenhagen and the picture from the book was the first photo that showed up in images!! That's how I colored it, except all the windows on waterfronts are usually white, boring, I did mine in colors. I googled other pictures from same book and the most popular photo again and again are the drawings in the book!! Fantastic!!

Our themes may change as we get into coloring but Colorit books have us covered on all subjects!"

Many people use coloring to help them in different ways. Personally, I live with anxiety and have found comfort in the fact that it’s OK to color outside of the lines. Each choice that I make is my own, no matter how precise or careless I am with my coloring! There is freedom in knowing that there is no right or wrong choice. Being a part of this ColorIt Community, you can find comfort and healing in the fact that you are not alone! You always have friends that would love to see and praise your wonderful creations, so make sure you continue to share them on our page! If you would like to be next month's Fan of the Month winner, make sure to go to our March Fan of the Month Page!