If you’re looking for something to break up your day or the endless loop you feel like you’re in during this pandemic, artist Nancy Blum, who designed flower mosaics for the 28th Street Station, has recently converted five collections of her artwork into free, downloadable coloring pages, which contain details from much larger drawings by Blum. “My hope is always to give the viewer of my artwork a feeling of enlivened, meditative calm,” Blum said. “At this moment when we are staying inside to keep ourself and others well, I thought I could take people a step further into my drawing process by providing an opportunity to color my drawings.”
Courtesy of Nancy Blum
The black-and-white pages, mainly of ornately designed flowers, are available in PDFs. The coloring collections include details from colorful drawings like “Nirvana,” which depicts an array of larger and larger flowers, and “Buckminster Flowers,” depicting geometric displays of flowers alongside patterned circles. Blum’s works give insight into the drawing and design process behind her much larger artworks, which are available on her website.
Courtesy of Nancy Blum
In addition to designing subway flower mosaics, Blum has designed “Revival,” five sets of art glass windows for San Francisco General Hospital’s acute care unit, “Enliven” for Philadelphia’s SEPTA Bus route, and “Floating Auriculas” for the Dobbs Ferry train station, in addition to other nature-inspired public art displays.
Courtesy of Nancy Blum
Blum’s coloring pages are being used in schools and by adults throughout their work days and have received “very heartening” initial feedback. Blum encourages people to post their creations on Instagram with the hashtag #blumcoloringpages @nancy_blum and share finished works with the media of her viewers’ organizations.
Next, take a virtual live tour of Riverside Park with us today at noon!