Swallows in Flight Above a Patterned Glass Border Band Coloring Page

Three swallows wheel inside the arched head of this window, wings open and tails forked, one climbing, one diving and one crossing between them. Their wings carry long feather strips rather than closed cells, so they take a pencil better than a broad nib. Small dots mark the eyes.

Under the birds runs the best part of the sheet. A deep band of interlaced lattice crosses the full width of the panel, built from repeating curves that cross and recross to leave a long row of small pointed cells. There are a lot of them and they are all slightly different, which is exactly the kind of band that rewards two or three alternating values rather than one flat tone.

Below the band the glass drops into tall vertical panes with a single pointed lens shape centered among them, and a heavy frame with a plain inner strip closes the whole window.

Keep the arch light behind the birds pale so the swallows stay readable, then put your strongest color in the lattice band where the eye already wants to go. The tall panes underneath can take a quiet gradient from one side to the other. Markers work for the panes, pencils for the lattice. Set aside about forty minutes for this one.