BUGGY BOOK REVIEW: “The Old World Tarantula Coloring Book” by Laura Airey Le

It never ceases to amaze me the wonderful things you can find on Etsy. Being a tarantula enthusiast, it is one topic I find myself searching quite often. Recently I came across artist Laura Airey Le and her Etsy store GrayGhostCreations. The first thing that drew me to her store was her tarantula art prints; then I found her “The Old World Tarantula Coloring Book.”

Though I am not into coloring books, I was immediately into this one. One of my favorite art mediums has always been colored pencils and since this book is designed to be used with color pencils, I thought it would be perfect. Though I can draw, I do not do it anywhere near enough as I should. For me, this book would be a great way to get back into honing my colored pencil use.

“The Old World Tarantula Coloring Book” arrived quickly, and Laura even included some fun extras like a bookmark, some stickers and even a magnet. Flipping through the pages, I became very excited to start on the first image, Harpactira pulchripes, the Golden Blue Leg Baboon.

This book is truly designed for artists of all ages and adults will enjoy coloring in it as much as a child. Though my goal is to do each species true to the tarantulas’ actual colors, you can even make something up as well.

Whether you are a tarantula enthusiast or not, this is a great coloring book. It has been very relaxing for me working in it and coloring is a great way to relieve stress. Besides the coloring book, Laura offers all kinds of nature-inspired gifts in her GrayGhostCreations Etsy store, including art prints, jewelry and magnets.

Laura also has a Kickstarter going called Arachnids of the World, which features some great items you can get by helping out, including an amazing t-shirt. Why buy things from Amazon and Wal-Mart, when you can support an artist? I am looking forward to volume two of “The Old World Tarantula Coloring Book” and will also be ordering some of her beautiful tarantula prints. I also want to thank Laura for the use of her images in this blog.

~David Albaugh