Andrew Saur and Angel Sarkela-Saur have been painting with coffee for several years now. It all started one summer when they planned their first art show in a coffee house in Duluth, Minnesota. They wanted to come
up with something unique and creative. Since their show was going to take place in a coffee house, they thought it would be appropriate to use coffee as their medium. They tried several techniques, such as using the coffee bean to sketch with and making pastels out of coffee grounds. These techniques were not successful. So they finally decided to use the coffee as a watercolor. The watercolor technique was the most effective way the artists found to use. They first sketch out an idea, then start brewing a really strong pot of coffee that is really dark and thick! From there, water is added to gain the subtle tones of brown. Finally, a clear coat of acrylic is added to preserve the art and a painting of delicate beauty is finished.
If you visit their website, you'll find they've categorized their art into 5 themes: art about coffee, conceptual themes, nature, wildlife and portraits. Some of the work is for sale.
All you artists out there, get your Steeped Volcanic Coffee brewing and see what you can come up with. Hmmm, I wonder if this technique could be used with tea - I've dyed paper and ribbon with tea before...
