Papillon means butterfly. One sentence was enough, explaining how this dog got its name, how someone looked at those ears fanning open on either side of a tiny face and thought “Yes, that’s it, that’s exactly what that is!” And I was completely gone, an hour into French etymology and dog breed history and old illustrations of spaniels with wings for ears. What else was I supposed to do? Papillon coloring pages. It was nearly 4 a.m. – ten of them done, just like that.
The ears on the Papillons were large and feathered, fanning wide like butterfly wings, big bright eyes gazing straight out, long silky fur flowing softly from their bodies – a couple of them caught mid-prance, paws lifted lightly off the ground as if gravity were only a suggestion. But I guaranteed: no two of them looked the same. Some of them are simple with clean lines, big shapes and one Papillon. Some have a lot more going on – tiny paw prints pressing into the dirt, loose strands of fur drifting in the air, a petal or two scattered around. At some point, I went down a second rabbit hole – Cavalier King Charles Spaniel coloring pages. Why? For no reason, actually. There’s something about them, maybe the ears, the expression, that felt like a natural next stop after the Papillon. Tap any image and the full version opens right up. Then download it, print it, or even save it for later use. Pull out whatever’s nearby – markers, colored pencils, crayons, anything works – and have at it with these Papillons.
