During lockdown a lot of people, whose mantra was “too busy” just a few months ago, are discovering a novel experience – boredom. Parents are discovering the pain of boredom by proxy. Keeping children occupied at home 16 hours a day is a daunting task.
Uncommon Creative Studio and illustration and animation studio, Dutch Uncle, have come to their aid – while helping to raise funds for the Florence Nightingale Foundation. They’ve created the first of what they plan to be a series of supersize colouring sheets. The A0 colouring sheet, crafted by illustrator, Dermot Flynn, is a playful documentation of London life under lockdown – full of the city’s activities and social nuances that lockdown has unearthed.
The sheets are large enough for the whole family to work on together have been revealed during lockdown and their “moments” include clapping for the Uk’s NHS Heroes, homeschooling with the help of Joe Wicks bootcamps, numerous Zoom pub quizzes as well as glimpses of the nation’s newfound love for baking sourdough and banana bread. There’s also a woman cutting up her bras, London’s famous pigeons in face masks, a poster from the Guardian’s Hope is Power campaign and a man zorbing to the shops.
Next in the series of supersize colouring sheets will be New York, illustrated by Tomi Um and Tokyo by Satoshi Hashimoto.
Nils Leonard, Co-founder at Uncommon stated, “These sheets are epic. They show London’s incredible spirit during these surreal times and really express an optimistic celebration of everyone getting through this together. We wanted to make something the whole family could enjoy, but also something beautiful that captured how we are all getting through this unique moment, something you’d want framed on your wall even if you didn’t pick up a pencil.”
Helen Cowley, Founder at Dutch Uncle commented, “I heard a lot from clients that they were running out of activities to keep their kids entertained whilst working from home — this sparked the initial inspiration for this project. We hope these colouring sheets offer a sense of fun for everyone, young or old, during lockdown and represent a positive visual memento.”
