Painting with Coffee
The technique of painting with coffee is simple and is a fun way to explore your creative cravings.
One must work around tints made from just coffee powder and water. To start with, all you will need is some coffee made using warm water and instant coffee powder, sheets of paper, and brushes of various sizes.
The Chinese used tea and coffee to paint their papers to achieve a sepia look.
Although the art of painting with tea and coffee dates back centuries, Pornchai Lerthammasiri, a Thai artist well known for his watercolour paintings is known as the Impressionist of Coffee Art. Some 20 years ago he felt the need for more challenge in his work the reason why he ventured into using coffee for a change.
A few other artists who are now using this style extensively are Hong Yi, Karen Eland, Andrew Saur, Angel Sarkel-Saur and Steven Mikel.
A few tips when working with this technique:
*Start with smaller pieces of art, to get accustomed to the nature of coffee and water.
*Always have a rough paper to try out the shades of coffee before you apply them on to your artwork.
*Use thick paper for better absorption.
*Keep a few tissues handy for dabbing off any extra layers of coffee application.
So, who says coffee is only good for drinking? It’s now good for painting too and while the drink is recommended for adults only, coffee painting can very well be done by both the young and old. And last but not the least, the added bonus of a wonderful aroma while one paints!
