The world has felt pretty gray lately. So many of the things that bring color to our days are just not available to us at the moment–we’ve had to find new routines, new hobbies, new ways to pass the time. So, the folks here at D Magazine decided to team up with a few local artists to brighten your weekend in a small, simple way.
Three artists—Jeremy Biggers, Mariell Guzman, and Will Heron—have each designed a Dallas-centric coloring page for readers and their families to download, print, and enjoy. Just enter your email address below and you’ll get the pages sent straight to your inbox.
These aren’t your average coloring book pages. We asked the artists to make D Magazine covers with icons and images that capture their experiences of Dallas. Here’s what they had to say:
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Will Heron:
“My coloring page aims to re-imagine the iconic Dallas skyline at night among potted cacti and succulents, imagery that I continually cultivate throughout my black and white illustration and mural works. Being born and raised in Dallas, my art is often figuratively and literally rooted in these southern prickly plants because of their resilience to continue growing even under the most extreme circumstances… Ultimately, this downtown gardenscape should be a coloring escape from our current reality that reminds us that even during tough times, Dallas will continue to grow and bloom together.”
Mariell Guzman:
“Since this quarantine has changed the way we experience our daily lives, it almost feels like we’re living in an alternate reality. I wanted to create a playful illustration of what I imagine our city would look like in an ‘alternate reality.’ This version of Dallas is made up of separated floating planes where various Dallas iconic buildings/landmarks exist on. It’s meant to resemble the idea of how our city feels isolated during these strange times. However, all the floating landscapes appear to be puzzle pieces that fit together and eventually will connect again.”
Jeremy Biggers:
“Dallas is a world class city, but sometimes it’s difficult to think of what the city is known for because we’re just simply too close to it. So, I brainstormed a few ideas to identify exactly what our icons around the city are. In the top spot is our legendary skyline. Because it’s so notable, it was just too easy to go that direction, so I wanted to pick other things that Dallasites would recognize to challenge myself a bit. I think the Traveling Man in Deep Ellum is a great starting point for what it represents and it’s overall look. Next up was probably Dallas’ second biggest icons Fair Park and Big Tex specifically.
I decided to dress the Traveling Man in Big Tex’s shirt and belt, standing in front of the unmistakable Texas Star Ferris Wheel. Growing up literally down the street from Fair Park in South Dallas, the Ferris Wheel lit up at night and Big Tex are extremely vivid memories from my childhood. Finally I had to add in some dots so I could include part of my own visual language to the design.”
