Color Odyssey

Your journey begins...

Welcome to the world of Chris Garver—renowned tattoo artist, illustrator, and former star of TLC’s Miami Ink. Join Chris in an exploration of the organic and the fantastic in Color Odyssey, a collection of his distinctive illustrations for coloring.

Each drawing is designed to ignite your imagination as you let your creativity lead the way on a colorful journey.

COLOR ODYSSEY • A C R E AT I V E C O L O R I N G J O U R N E Y • G A R V E R

A R T • Te c h n i q u e s • C o l o r

Color Odyssey

A C R E AT I V E C O L O R I N G J O U R N E Y CHRIS GARVER

$14.95 US • $16.95 CANADA ISBN: 978-1-942021-97-1 Get Creative 6

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Color Odyssey A C R E AT I V E C O L O R I N G J O U R N E Y CHRIS GARVER Get Creative 6 NEW YORK

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✒To my mother, Wilhelmina, and my daughter, Nyarah

INTRODUCTION

As I was working on this book, I kept thinking that coloring is fun no matter who you are. That’s just how it is.

You get to use your own creativity in picking colors and it can be really relaxing to physically do it, instead of just sitting back and watching TV.

Journey into the world of Chris Garver’s art.

Let the color odyssey begin...

People sometimes forget that doing things just for fun is rewarding and important. It’s like getting back in touch with your inner child by doing stuff you enjoyed when you were little. It helps you remember what it was like to just be happy. But you mature as you get older so your taste in imagery is different from what it was when you were a kid.

You can still appreciate those things, but to enjoy coloring as an adult, the visuals have to be something that makes sense for who you are now.

I’m a bit of a workaholic and creating the art for this book was a lot different than the way I normally work. When I am doing a piece of art for myself, I work at an idea until it is totally complete. So if it’s a painting, for example, I start with a sketch and revise it until I am happy with that. Then I move on to actually painting.

But for this—a collection of line art—the idea is that someone else finishes it. I’m interested in seeing how people color it in; I know it will be totally different from how I imagine it and unique to each person who picks up a pen or a colored pencil to work on it.

—CHRIS GARVER

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✒To my mother, Wilhelmina, and my daughter, Nyarah

INTRODUCTION

As I was working on this book, I kept thinking that coloring is fun no matter who you are. That’s just how it is.

You get to use your own creativity in picking colors and it can be really relaxing to physically do it, instead of just sitting back and watching TV.

Journey into the world of Chris Garver’s art.

Let the color odyssey begin...

People sometimes forget that doing things just for fun is rewarding and important. It’s like getting back in touch with your inner child by doing stuff you enjoyed when you were little. It helps you remember what it was like to just be happy. But you mature as you get older so your taste in imagery is different from what it was when you were a kid.

You can still appreciate those things, but to enjoy coloring as an adult, the visuals have to be something that makes sense for who you are now.

I’m a bit of a workaholic and creating the art for this book was a lot different than the way I normally work. When I am doing a piece of art for myself, I work at an idea until it is totally complete. So if it’s a painting, for example, I start with a sketch and revise it until I am happy with that. Then I move on to actually painting.

But for this—a collection of line art—the idea is that someone else finishes it. I’m interested in seeing how people color it in; I know it will be totally different from how I imagine it and unique to each person who picks up a pen or a colored pencil to work on it.

—CHRIS GARVER

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Get Creative 6 An imprint of Mixed Media Resources 161 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013 Copyright © 2015 by Get Creative 6 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or information storage-and-retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher.

The designs in this book are intended for the personal, noncommercial use of the retail purchaser and are under federal copyright laws; they are not to be reproduced in any form for commercial use.

Permission is granted to photocopy content for the personal use of the retail purchaser.

Manufactured in China 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 First Edition

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Well known and respected throughout the worldwide tattoo community, Chris Garver garnered mainstream attention after appearing as a regular on the realityTV show Miami Ink. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, he attended the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School and later, New York’s School of Visual Arts. An avid traveler and aficionado of all styles of tattoos, Chris has visited and worked in such locales as Japan, Singapore, England, and the Netherlands.

He currently resides in Brooklyn with his daughter.

PHOTO BY BUTCH HOGAN

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Your journey begins...

Welcome to the world of Chris Garver—renowned tattoo artist, illustrator, and former star of TLC’s Miami Ink. Join Chris in an exploration of the organic and the fantastic in Color Odyssey, a collection of his distinctive illustrations for coloring.

Each drawing is designed to ignite your imagination as you let your creativity lead the way on a colorful journey.

COLOR ODYSSEY • A C R E AT I V E C O L O R I N G J O U R N E Y • G A R V E R

A R T • Te c h n i q u e s • C o l o r

Color Odyssey

A C R E AT I V E C O L O R I N G J O U R N E Y CHRIS GARVER

$14.95 US • $16.95 CANADA ISBN: 978-1-942021-97-1 Get Creative 6

sp 16Color Odessey_COVER_FINALrev.indd 1

10/5/15 4:46 PM