Chris AshtonTourism New Zealand has jumped on the adult colouring-in bandwagon by releasing a series of beautiful sketches in collaboration with New Zealand-born artist Gabby Malpas.
I admit it was only quite recently that I learned adult colouring-in was even a thing, but I can see the appeal. Art therapy has long been used as a means for people to relax their minds and unleash their creativity.
The Cathedral Cove sketch. Photo: Tourism New Zealand
According to the release from Tourism NZ, colouring-in books for adults have shot to the top of Amazon’s best-seller list with five of the top 20 best-selling books being colouring-in titles.
Born and raised in Auckland, Sydney-based artist Gabby Malpas has developed a reputation for implementing New Zealand and Pacifica culture into her work. Gabby said she is honoured to be taking destination storytelling to a new level for a place that’s close to her heart.
“The trend of adult colouring-in is taking the world by storm and I love that it encourages people to get back in touch with their artistic side whilst finding calmness along the way,” she says.
“I feel privileged to recreate stunning New Zealand landscapes and really encourage people to bring these to life through their own creativity.”
Artist Gabby Malpas creating the sketches. Photo: Tourism New Zealand
Tourism New Zealand General Manager, Australia, Tony Saunders says it’s a holiday for the mind.
“It’s exciting to offer people a new way to experience New Zealand – especially as we’re the first National Tourism Board in the world to showcase our landscapes through colouring-in.
“New Zealand has such a rich story; we chose the four locations as they each present a different adventure and are all easily accessible from Australia.”
People are encouraged to use #colouryourjourney #NZMustDo and @purenewzealand to share their colouring-in creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Visit newzealand.com/colouryourjourney to download the sketches.
