Summer Nights Artist’s Edition (Sommarnatt Tavelbok) – A Review

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Summer Nights Artist’s Edition is illustrated by Hanna Karlzon and published and kindly sent to me to review by Gibbs Smith. This book was originally published in Sweden under the title Sommarnatt Tavelbok and this book is identical, apart from the language. This Artist’s Edition is also identical in format to those published for Hanna’s other books, Daydreams, and Magical Dawn and therefore my review is mostly identical apart from the content section and the photos. The book measures 29.5x21cm (A4), it’s paperback with thick but flexible card covers which are a pale peach colour (not identical to the book which is paler and pinker) with black and white line drawings of Hanna’s butterflies and beading with gold foiling accents on the front and back. The book has a black tape binding meaning the pages lie completely flat when the book is open and they can be removed for framing. The pages are made of thick cream card which is lightly textured and absolutely fabulous for using pencils on as they layer really well and blend seamlessly. Water-based pens also work really well on this card and don’t bleed through or sideways and there isn’t even a hint of shadowing either. The 20 illustrations are all single-page designs and are printed single-sided so you can use whatever medium you fancy without worrying about bleed-through.

The illustrations chosen are a good cross-section of images from the Summer Nights colouring book (reviewed by me here), there’s a huge range of content including butterflies, birds, owls, jewels, houses, insects, cats, flowers, leaves and finally, one of Hanna’s signature female illustrations. The images are all printed the same size as the original colouring book so if you’re able to colour that, you’ll also be able to colour these with no difficulty and Hanna’s chosen a lovely range that will look incredible finished and framed or gifted to others. All of the images are pictured below so you can check that you’re happy with the choices and see if your favourites are included.

In terms of mental health, this book is just wonderful, seasoned readers of my blog will know that I strongly believe that natural images, and those depicting nature are the best for mental health and calming you down and this book is no exception, the images are very relaxing! The line thickness is consistent throughout and remains medium/thin so it’s definitely manageable to colour. The intricacy and detail vary a little throughout from medium to high and this is part of what makes Hanna’s work so special and beautiful, if you’re wanting to colour within each teeny tiny section then you’ll need to have very good vision and fine motor control but if you’re happy to colour over some of it and use it as texture underneath then moderate vision and fine motor control would be absolutely fine! I found this book and the illustrations within it great for my mood, just looking through it and noticing all of the different details, patterns and creatures makes me feel calmer and the images are just charming so they’re sure to lift your mood and keep you distracted from any difficult thoughts or persistent symptoms. The images do vary a little in size and difficulty and they mostly consist of a collection of components which is ideal for good and bad days because you can work on one flower or beetle on a bad day, or a whole page on a good day so it’s ideal for those with fluctuating conditions or concentration levels. The fact that the pages are printed single-sided and are removable is fantastic because it means you can remove your works of art and frame them or gift them which is a great way of reminding yourself of what you can achieve and brighten up the darkest of days.

I would highly recommend this book to those of you who are already fans of Hanna’s work and have the original book, those who love to gift or frame their colouring, and those who like to use alcohol markers or wet media as there’s no worry about ruining any reverse images. The illustrations chosen are beautiful, a wonderful cross-section and very calming.

If you’d like to purchase a copy, it’s available to pre-order here:
Amazon UK – Summer Nights Artist’s Edition
Book Depository Worldwide – https://www.bookdepository.com/Summer-Nights-Hann-Karlzon/9781423646570/?a_aid=colouringitmom

The image below was coloured using Holbein Artists’ Coloured Pencils and the background was created using Panpastels.