Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) is often considered a tragic figure, yet he could be delightfully amusing. Writing to his sister Willemina from Provence, the artist offered a self-portrait in prose: My complexion has changed from green-greyish-pink to greyish-orange . . . and I am always very dusty, always more bristlingly loaded like a porcupine, with sticks, painter's easel, canvases and further merchandise. Only the green eyes have remained the same. One can just picture the man-porcupine trundling along a country road, on his way to paint a sunny harvest landscape. Though he spent it in poverty and poor health, that first summer in the south of France may have been the happiest period in a life often disrupted by anxiety and disappointment. Two years later, this extraordinary man was laid to rest in Auvers-sur-Oise, a village northwest of Paris. On the inside front and back covers of this coloring book you'll find twenty-one reproductions of Van Gogh's paintings. When you color in the line drawings, you might want to copy colors from the original works, or you might decide to use a color scheme all your own. We've left the last two pages of this book blank in case you, like Van Gogh, might be inspired to draw and color your own vase full of flowers, a starlit sky seen from your window, or a portrait of someone you hold dear.