Art With Me: A Small Coloring Experiment

I have been thinking about ways to make art feel more open, playful and shared. That is how my new idea, Art With Me, began.

My first experiment is based on my painting series The Cosmic Deer Herd, which was shown at the Riga Contemporary Surrealism Biennale. I wanted to see what would happen if these surreal paintings were simplified into black-and-white coloring pages.

Could the feeling of the original paintings remain, even without color?
Could someone else bring their own colors, mood and imagination into the same cosmic world?

The Cosmic Deer Herd Mini Coloring Book

From original painting to simplified coloring page — my first Art With Me experiment

I created a small free printable mini-book called Color the Cosmic Deer Herd. In it, the cosmic deer wander through abstract space, waiting for new colors and new interpretations.

You can color the pages softly, boldly, strangely or intuitively. There is no correct version. You can look at the original paintings for inspiration, or create your own cosmic atmosphere completely freely.

This is still a beginning. My website is new, my shop is slowly growing, and I am learning as I go. But maybe that is part of the idea too: art can unfold little by little — through experiments, small joys and shared imagination.

Color the Cosmic Deer Herd is a free printable mini-book based on my original painting series.

The free coloring mini-book is now available on my website, home page.

If you would like to see more behind-the-scenes images, coloring page ideas and future Art With Me experiments, follow me on Pinterest: @cosmicaelina

What colors would you choose for your own cosmic deer herd?