Colouring in to combat stress with creative Bonnie Brown

We have a free colouring in image for you to download here!

Bonnie Brown is the Wellington-based creative illustrator designing colouring in pages for people to find a sense of calm and creativity during times of uncertainty.

Bonnie AKA @studio.bon, a member of our Miss FQ Collective and finalist in the ‘Arts & Culture’ category of the 2019 Miss FQ Influence Awards, says the project came about as the nation went into a lockdown and she figured why not create something that might offer both comfort and distraction. Colouring-in is something, unless you are around kids a lot, that just isn’t part of daily adult life… but it should be. Creative and meditative, we decided now was a great time to get into some colouring and asked our super-talented friend to re-create a Miss FQ image for our readers to download and recreate at home! You can download the Miss FQ Colouring Page here. Scroll down find out how Bonnie is staying inspired while at home.

What inspired you to create these colouring in pages?

Honestly, boredom! I know most of us find we have more free time at the moment and I thought it would be a fun thing for me to create while hopefully giving people something to do too. It seems silly but colouring in can be great to destress, take your mind off the news or if you have kids, keep them entertained for a bit.

What things are helping you stay inspired and motivated at the moment?

With larger international projects put on pause currently and more time as a result, I’ve been motivated to visit my ‘to-do at a later date’ list. Alongside this, seeing the ways people are staying socially connected while being physically distant is inspiring. When things feel all doom and gloom it’s definitely hard to find the motivation to create, so looking for small moments of joy and happiness is key.

Who are your top 5 favourite creative Instagram accounts to follow?

This definitely changes on the daily but I’m saving a lot of work from these creatives currently: @jasminedowling @jadepurplebrown @livia.falcaru @tesssmithroberts @ilyamilstein Are you reading anything at the moment, if so what is it? I just finished An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. It centres around a newlywed couple, Celestial and Roy, and their relationship as Roy is wrongly incarcerated. I was so hooked that I finished it in a day.

What advice do you have for other creative to keep inspired while at home?

If you have more time on your hands, try to use it to explore new ideas or subjects. Play around with different materials and styles. But also be kind to yourself! There’s a lot of pressure at the moment to make the most of the lockdown – if you don’t feel motivated or inspired that is okay too!