I'll admit I have a love-hate attitude toward the trend of coloring books geared toward grown-ups. Although I like coloring books, even for adults (the mix of patience, concentration, relaxation, and mind/hand skill is beneficial) their popularity means there are just too many of them ? 50,450 in Amazon's "Coloring Books for Grown-Ups" category! And with so many, they all tend to look the same, even if they take on different themes: cities, fantasy, flowers, animals, etc.

That said, find the bare-bones simplicity of Marc Thomasset's The Brutalist Colouring Book appealing.

[All photos by Geert De Taeye]

If Thomasset, who emailed me about his coloring book and sent me these photos, wanted to be funny, he would include one or two gray colored pencils in every order. After all, what is Brutalist architecture but concrete"
But just as other coloring books for grown-ups invite juxtapositions of color that could never be found in nature or whatever is being depicted, there's no reason such Brutalist masterpieces as William Pereira's Geisel Library in San Diego can't be jazzed up with color in more than just their glass surfaces.

The first edition of The Brutalist Colouring Book is limited to 500 numbered copies. "Designed and printed with love in Brussels" on thick recycled paper: 36 pages (cover 4 pages - inside 32 pages), 148 x 210 mm (5,8" X 8,2"). Only ?12.00.

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