Cupid Flying With His Bow And Arrow Among Hearts Coloring Page

A small cherub hangs in the upper half of this page with his bow drawn and an arrow laid across it, aimed off to the right. His hair is a loose tangle of curls, one feathered wing is spread behind his shoulder, and his legs trail behind him with the knees bent as though he has only just pushed off. Below and around him, ten hollow hearts drift at different sizes, scattered loosely rather than arranged.

Only one wing shows, since he is drawn almost in profile. That is worth pointing out before someone decides the second one is missing.

The scattered hearts are the useful part of this sheet. They are identical in shape and different in size, so they make an easy place to practice a gradient: start pale at one corner and deepen as you cross the page. The cherub himself needs very little, and leaving him light keeps him in front of the hearts rather than lost among them.

The Romans called him Cupid and the Greeks called him Eros, and in the oldest versions he is not a baby at all. He appears as a lean young man, and only became a chubby winged toddler in Renaissance painting.