The Mysteries of the Rosary: An Adult Coloring Book

Experience spiritual calm with the first adult coloring book to focus on the Rosary as you color and reflect on the traditional Catholic prayer. Renowned artist Daniel Mitsui provides exquisitely detailed illustrations of the Glorious, Joyful, and Sorrowful Mysteries, suitable for meditative coloring and for reflecting on the lives of Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

Adult coloring books were the fastest-growing book category last year, making up five of the top ten bestselling books in 2015. But of the hundreds of coloring books on the market, very few reflect Catholic themes. Daniel Mitsui's The Mysteries of the Rosary is the first adult coloring book to focus on the Rosary and draw inspiration from medieval illustrated manuscripts.

Just as repetition of the Hail Mary during the Rosary can create a contemplative awareness of its mysteries, careful attention to coloring these captivating illustrations can open your heart to a deeper awareness of the Rosary's truths. Like the medieval monks who understood their artistic decoration of the gospels as a form of prayer and praise, you'll find yourself caught up in meditative wonder as you prayerfully color Mitsui's images.

The artist specializes in hand-drawn ink illustrations on paper or vellum. Since his conversion to Catholicism in 2004, most of his pieces have focused on religious subjects. Mitsui decided to publish selections of his fine art as a coloring book because he believes that traditional Catholic art has the power to shape the imagination and heart of everyone who experiences it.

This unique coloring book contains thirty illustrations--fifteen full-page drawings of the mysteries of the Rosary, each one beautifully bordered by traditional images of animals and flowers; twelve vignettes featuring prophets, evangelists, and Fathers of the Church; and three larger drawings with the artist's commentary. It also contains descriptive copy written by the author for the three sets of Mysteries.

Artist Daniel Mitsui specializes in ink drawing. His meticulously detailed creations--created entirely by hand on paper or vellum--are held in collections worldwide. Since his baptism into the Catholic Church in 2004, he has focused most of his art on religious subjects.

Mitsui is a 2004 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he studied drawing, oil painting, etching, lithography, wood carving, bookbinding, and film animation.

The Vatican commissioned Mitsui to illustrate a new edition of the Roman Pontifical in 2011. In 2012, he established Millefleur Press, an imprint for publishing fine books and broadsides of his artwork and typography. He is a prolific designer of custom bookplates. He has two other adult coloring books with Ave Maria Press, The Mysteries of the Rosary and The Saints. Mitsui recently began research on what he calls the Summula Pictoria, an iconographic summary of the Old and New Testaments--a project that will ultimately take him more than a decade to complete.

Born in Georgia and raised in Illinois, Mitsui lives in Chicago with his wife, Michelle, and their four children.