Have Coffee - Will Paint

It’s a new year and maybe you’d like to take up a new hobby. If you have some leftover coffee in your pot and feel artistic, grab a paintbrush and try painting. For inspiration, you could travel to England to see professional coffee painter Michael Minas’ exhibit, or just visit it online.

Minas is a professional artist living in England who dabbles in coffee, literally. A recent article by Graham Moody described Minas’ paintings but avoided any details concerning the technique. The results of coffee as paint are quite pleasant, as Minas says it ".... creates an intriguing quality akin to that seen in the dying embers of a fire, or in clouds, when one can take the time to gaze and invent images and scenarios from them."

Other coffee painters have posted their coffee art online, but the technique is top secret, not surprisingly. Coffee washes are fairly straightforward, and most of us could pull this off. It’s the details in darker shades that create the challenge, and avoiding the problems of caking, flaking and mold call for a much greater amount of practice. One artist in another post reported that he has spent six years perfecting the medium of black coffee.

There are a few clues that might help you. For a child’s project, a crayon resist technique with a coffee wash can have great effects. Painting consecutive layers after each coat dries can darken areas where a darker hue is desired. Using a spray bottle with water can create different looks. Experimenting to determine the correct amount of water to use, the best strength of coffee for painting, and the best brushes could be half the fun.

Coffee latte art, coffee painting…is it the caffeine that brings out the creativity?

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.