Coffee Talk

MARCUSWORKS: Coffee Painting

2009-09-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

Mark (I'm assuming this is his name considering the branding of MARCUSWORKS and Marchitecture Channel on YouTube is a very talented speed painter from the Philippines who uses coffee as a medium in some of his work. He is an architecture student at the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines.

The video below is an example of some of his coffee painting. Very inspiring work!

Marchitecture Channel offers videos on drawing caricatures and portrait painting.

Mark also has a Facebook page if want to learn more or become a fan!

For more information on painting with coffee and the artists who use coffee as an artistic medium subscribe to the Blog and continue reading! Ezju also keeps his studio Website at http://www.nosuchanimal.net

Ezju on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/ezju

Follow Ezju on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ezju

Become an Ezju fan on Facebook

Bobsmade Speed Painting With Coffee

2009-09-21T10:43:00.001-07:00

Multi-talented Bobsmade could be producing custom clothing for you one day and speed painting with coffee the next! You can find examples of Bobsmade's work on Deviant Art or Bobsmade.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KQueG1yZ2M

This is one of my favorite coffee paintings by Bobsmade. The theme has to do with mass-consumerism and mega-corporations.

http://www.bobsmade.deviantart.com

http://www.bobsmade.com

“Bobsmade is a Germany based custom clothing line. That means, you say what you like, and I produce ideas that really fit you. I almost draw on everything i can get, shoes, bags, headphones, caps and of cause on canvas and walls.”

Ezju on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/ezju

Follow Ezju on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ezju

Become an Ezju fan on Facebook

Coffee Art NYC

2009-09-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Andy and Angel who call themselves collectively as The Coffee Artists™ (they've even gone as far as trademarking this moniker) have several videos on YouTube. This one in-particular caught my attention.

Quotation from their Youtube information:

“The Coffee Artists™ are pleased to present to you their latest Coffee Art® achievement. It is a long story, but here are the highlights. Last summer, they were approached by a public relations firm whose clients were interested in their Coffee Art®. These two clients happen to be Starbucks and Hershey's. The two companies were planning on producing a line of chocolates, truffles and other fine tasting morsels and they were looking for a unique and exciting way to launch their product. This short film shows the creation of these paintings for this exhibition in NYC. “

Ezju on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/ezju

Follow Ezju on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ezju

Become an Ezju fan on Facebook

Kay Bloom – Full Time Coffee Painter!

2009-09-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Something that caught my eye while reading about Kay Bloom is that she lists her occupation as “full time coffee painter.” This is something that has eluded me for some time now. I'm very impressed that she is able to make a living at painting with coffee.

After coming across Kay Bloom's video on YouTube I made a visit to her MySpace page – www.myspace.com/stainedcoffee to learn more about this artist. Kay keeps an impressive collection of images ranging from coffee related subject matter to iconic portraits to ethnic history.

From Kay Bloom's MySpace Page

KAY's Blurbs – About Me:

“I started entering art contests at the age of 9 despite my mothers disapproval. I entered several contests and won first place. I finally told my mother at the age of 15 I had been competing in art contests but before she could get angry I showed her all the money that I had won. We had very little money at the time and I had made enough money to buy the extra things that we needed. From that point on my mother was very supportive of me spending time practicing my art and entering contests.”

“I like creating art with many mediums charcoal, acrylic, pastel, pencil, and my favorite coffee. I started experimenting painting with coffee at the age of 20. As a kid I had helped my grandfather pick and dry coffee. Once I was in college I had so little money that I need to experiment with alternative mediums. Coffee was a perfect choice of paint. The oil in the coffee help to give the paintings a shine and textured look. I think the coffee gives my paintings a renaissance feel and accentuates the sole of my subject matter.”

Check out this coffee artist and enjoy her work! I hope she keeps up the great work! All images posted in this article are copyright by the artist Kay Bloom.

More Info on Coffee Painting

Ezju on MySpace - http://www.myspace.com/ezju

Follow Ezju on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ezju

Become an Ezju fan on Facebook

Some Fun with Coffee Painting in Northern Colorado!

2009-09-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

I came accross this blog posting about painting with coffee. Not a whole lot of detail in it but noteworth none-the-less.

http://www.jen-lowe-designs.blogspot.com/2009/09/coffee-anyone.html

All rights to this image belong to the artist.

For more information on using coffee as an artistic medium please continue to read this blog or visit Ezju's No Such Animal Studios Website at http://www.nosuchanimal.net/

Aria Greenland Dog Coffee Art

2009-09-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

I came across an image posted at DeviantArt.com, Aria Greenland Dog Coffee Art by Wild Spirit Wolf.

It's cute. It's a dog. It's not painted in blood which is nice. Painting with unusual media makes this artist happy and I can't blame them. The effect of coffee on the paper they used works very well.

They are very adamant about copyright "Artwork © 2009 WildSpirit DO NOT COPY, TRACE, ALTER, OR REDISTRIBUTE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM.
" So I can't post it here. Check it out but take care . . .

For more information on Coffee Art, Coffee Painting, Arfé, and artists who use coffee as an artistic medium please look deeper into this Blog or vist Ezju's fine art Website No Such Animal Studios.

- Ezju

Why Aren't We Swimming in Coffee?

2009-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Brian Vegter, the dog artist from Baker City, Oregon and he loves everything dog. If your a friend you would call him Bri. I came across Bri's “A Dog Painting A Day” Blog and subsequently his Website Dogs by Bri. His personal site is very cute and well designed for his art. The painting to the left, "Why Aren't We Swimming in Coffee?", was the first to catch my attention. Who wouldn't want to be swimming in coffee? It turned out that he had a previous painting called "Swimming in Coffee" displayed below!

Swimming In Coffee

Disgruntled with his work as a television cameraman in New York City Bri got his first big brake from a friend. How could you be unhappy with being a TV cameraman in NY city you ask? Well, let me ask you this: are you happy with the job you currently have? You went to school for it. Not quite getting the work you thought you would? Same goes for Bri. He was not getting the film work he was hoeing for. As for his friend? We could all use a friend or two like this. Bri started hanging small paintings in his friends upscale dog boutique, Doggy Style in NYC, Bri's work took off and his career changed. What lead him to paint dogs with coffee is a fun story he has posted on his Website.

". . . Fairmont used to stare longingly at the cappuccinos that I made every morning, so that's what the painting was about. I even used real espresso to tint the canvas. For months the picture had the beautiful smell of coffee drifting from it."

Who hasn't had that special pet who inspired greatness . . . even if was just in catching Frisbees! I miss Nikita! My German Shepard. There are no paintings of her let alone coffee paintings . . . hmmm . . . maybe some day.

Fox and the Coffee Hound

Bri considers his images to be environmental portraits attempting to capture the spirit of the dogs.

"What are they passionate about? Are they ball crazy? A little thief? Or addicted to coffee."

I found Bri's work to be fun and whimsical. Very much an enjoyable addition to the Coffee Talk blog. Thank you Bri!

For more information on Bri and his work you can find him on Animal Planet's "K9 Karma," The Bark Magazine and featured in Oregon Home: the Art of the Canine.

Contact Bri by e-mail: dogbri@q.com

Links about bri and his work:

Dogs by Bri: http://www.dogsbybri.com
A Dog Painting A Day Blog:
http://dogsbybri.blogspot.com/
Oregon Home: the Art of the Canine feature article: http://www.oregonhomemagazine.com/articles/portfolio/the-art-of-the-canine.html

Dusty Dog Studio (2339 Auburn Ave.) in Baker City, Ore.

16 pictures created by Instant Coffee

2009-01-12T09:22:00.000-08:00

I found this article about Vancouver's Main Street route are being invited to choose a piece of artwork that will be painted on the outside of a No. 3 bus plying the route later this year. Unfortunetly it had no pictures of the Instant Coffee pictures! Maybe if they win they'll be published!

Buses to become mobile works of art for Main Street's 'art corridor'

By: Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Published: Monday, January 12, 2009

Members of the public riding buses on Vancouver's Main Street route are being invited to choose a piece of artwork that will be painted on the outside of a No. 3 bus plying the route later this year.

A series of 16 pictures created by Instant Coffee, an artist collective that works out of Vancouver and Toronto, have been installed in the advertising panels of a trolley bus and people are being encouraged to text message their choice to 604-779-0008.

The contest is part of a public art and neighbourhood street improvement program for Main Street, sponsored by TransLink and the city of Vancouver, that has been running for a number of years.

As part of the program another No. 3 bus, decorated with Afghan blanket panels, has been on the route since mid-December, said TransLink's Judy Rudin.

"The idea is to create an art corridor along Main Street and one part of this is using a bus as a piece of artwork," she said.

The winning artwork will be announced at the opening launch of 88 BLOCKS -- Art on Main, on Jan. 17. Rudin said the program will feature five planned artwork exhibitions on three trolleys serving Main Street, as well as artwork being installed at various points along the route.

© The Vancouver Sun 2009

Egyptian Coffee painting

2009-01-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

This is a little piece I found at MyCraftWorks. Primarily Indian themed art from the looks of it though there was no profile about the artist.

"In this Blog, you can find the works done by myself and some contributions from my family. This Blog is created to share my creativity with you all. Also, there are many creative people who inspired me to do all these works."

"This is a Coffee painting, popularly known as Egyptian Coffee painting.
The board used is MDF and the picture is pasted on the same and outlined with gold 3d outliner. The paint is a mixture of instant coffee powder, fevicryl glue n gloss and water."

artdc.org - coffee, art, coffee anyone?

2009-01-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Washington, DC Metro Arts forum is hosting a fun little contest or mini-event. The information and link to there forum is listed below. Given my chosen medium and subject matter this fits right up my ally!

I've reposted the information below. You can find the original article posted here . . .

We’re curious. Have you ever made art out of coffee based materials. If you haven’t, we’d like to see what you can create. Call it a challenge. No prize or real reason, other than the fact that we think creativity is cool. If you think creativity is interesting, make some art out of coffee based materials, beans, grinds, coffee machines, or something, and reply with images here:

http://artdc.org/forum/index.php?topic=10971.0

We’re not looking for images of people drinking coffee, but actual art made with coffee.

Further, we’d like to hear more about art made from recycled materials, if you work in recycled materials, please do post about it on the forum, or send me a message about it at jesse@artdc.org

Cheers,

–Jesse
jesse@artdc.org

I did go to the ARTDC link above and registered with the forum in hopes of uploading some of my coffee painting images. Alas I'm still waiting for my e-mail confirmation allowing me access to the forum. Poot! I hate waiting! I'll keep you posted on how long it takes and when my work will be up.

Some of the images on the forum didn't fit the ask for parameters but fell into the coffee motif. A couple images did what they asked . . .

Comment by the artist:

"One of my thousands of unfinished/"gestating" pieces, made with a lot of coffee and coffe grounds as well as tereyaki sauce, whiskey, pastel, watercolor, and arcylic on a lithograph on rice paper."

Comment by the artist:

"not sure if this will count - but i wasn't happy with the stark whiteness of the cheesecloth i used for this piece. so i took my used coffee grounds, some tea, and worcestershire sauce, to give it a bit of color (i wanted to use natural!)"

Once I get the e-mail confirmation I'll upload some images like these!

The Morning News

Open Mic Night (at the Cafe)

. . . at the Cafe

Late Night Drip

Child of Seattle

For more images like these and information on Ezju the Seattle based coffee artist please visit his Website at www.nosuchanimal.net

Megan Balli: I've heard about painting with coffee

2009-01-08T09:54:00.001-08:00

Megan Balli is a Utah based artist who works with traditional media as well as photography, illustration, design, and now experimenting with coffee as a medium! You can view Megan's work on her Blog Megan's Illustrations or contact her at meganbonde@gmail.com.

Megan's Illustrations hosts life drawings, paintings and illustrations in addition to links for her other work in photography and design. Her paintings and illustrations range from cute little quirky birds sitting in a landscape to serious portraits and landscapes.

"I did this in Denver with my in-laws. I've heard about painting with coffee, but had never done it till now. I think it's a lot of fun actually, and would love to do a few more to experiment with. It's all pure ground coffee with a little bit of Payne's Grey watercolor for added contrast."

I hope she keeps experimenting!

Megan's Photography
Megan's Designs
Megan's Life Drawings
Last but not least Russell and Megan Balli . . . all you could want to know . . .

For more information on coffee art and the artists who use coffee as an artistic medium please feel free to peruse this Coffee Talk blog or visit the Seattle based coffee artist Ezju at his studio Website www.nosuchanimal.net

No Such Animal Studios has found a new home!

2009-01-06T18:47:00.000-08:00

No Such Animal Studios has found a new home! Over the past few years Ezju has been busy working at Boeing and raising a family. It’s time to get back to art!

Early February Ezju will be moving his art studio into a 600+ sq/ft space at 14802 Bothell Way NE Seattle, WA 98155. The new studio doesn’t have a number assigned to it yet but that is in the works. This new studio space will also serve as the new location of Ph’Kaki Media and Design, Ezju’s design company. The best part is the new space even has a window!

It’s been over 3 years since the last painting in Ezju’s Coffee Culture multi-series. With the accusation of a new home for the studio more work to this series will be produced in 2009 covering the lifestyle of Coffee Culture in Seattle to emulations of barista latte art. Also in the concept stage is a new series, Coffee Noir.

All of Ezju’s Coffee Culture multi-series are painted using coffee as not just a subject matter but also as an artistic medium. For more information on Ezju and his work please visit www.nosuchanimal.net.

More information to come as the move in date gets closer!

Filipina Coffee Painter - Sunshine Plata

2009-01-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

I came upon this article, Filipina Coffee Painter, and thought I'd share. It was published on January 2, 2009 by bong

"She is talented. Smart. Innovative. She loves coffee – but she doesn’t drink it, she paints with it. Sunshine Plata professes that she doesn’t drink coffee because she loves to sleep - wherein she gets her inspiration from. I’m just curious, before she bagged the Nescafe endorsement of her recent exhibit, what was she using? Blend 45 or kapeng Batangas? I guess Starbucks is out of the question because she doesn’t use brewed coffee, plus it is very expensive and runs counter to the very reason she switched her medium from oil to coffee. Amazing Filipino talent!"

While I've included the body text here in my article, there is a short video clip of this young lady and her art work as well as reasons and statements about why she uses coffee as an artistic medium!

After doing some research on this 28 year old artist I discovered in her inspiration an answer to a question that has nagged myself and patrons for years now. Is coffee permanent? I found the answer on MisterYosa.com in an article about Sunshine and her art.

"It all started one fateful day when she saw a 19th century artifact with a signature done in coffee by the artist. And to think that it survived all these years was an exceptional thing on its own. Then, an idea. It was perfect, and it was ingenious."

Also posted in the article on misteryosa.com was "When asked what her message is to inspiring artists, Sunshine has this to say (or write, ’cause, well, we’ve never met personally…yet :)):"

"Message to artists/non artists, to pinoys, to everyone: If your intentions are good and noble, u should never let whatever circumstance u have in life to hinder u from expressing ur creative self in whatever form. If people without limbs can use their feet or their mouth to paint how much more ourselves who are not put in that kid of a dilemma? all we need is that passion, perseverance and that spark of creativity flowing in our veins in order to be another creator of beauty and pure honesty.

There's a book entitled “dream and ur dreams will fall short” and i can see the truth in that now! i dreamed but not this gigantic and all the things i am getting now are bizarrely beyond my wildest dreams! i encourage everyone to pray, only God can help u attain the utterly unexpected! filipinos are known to be pious and i say ur not born a filipino for nothing, there is absolutely a purpose! remember bamboo’s song ‘pinoy ako”: “sabi nila may anting anting ako pero di nila alam na diyos ang dahilan ko”

Maraming pang magagaling na pinoy talents na undiscovered at naniniwala akong kayang-kaya pa nila higitan yung mga natamo ko! kailangan lang sila mabigyan ng pagkakataon, suportahan at paniwalaan! Hiling ko po sa mga kapwa ko pinoy: ‘ipagdasal niyo po ako kailangan ko yun araw-araw, salamat po”

YUN TINAMO KO PONG KARANGALAN AY HANDOG KO SA BAWAT ISANG MAMAMAYANG PILIPINO, MATAPANG KA, KAYA MO….PARA SAYO TOH!"

Sunshine's coffee paintings have even made an appearance on the Martha Stuart Show. Now I'm just getting jealous!

Sunshine Plata, also known as Kapeng Mahiwaga ng Isang Diwata, holds a psychology degree and teach kindergarten in Pasig City, Manila, the Philippines. She keeps a Website/Blog at http://d1wata.wordpress.com

Une Vie d'Artiste Goes For a Second Cup

2008-11-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Erica Chappuis continues her coffee paintings with a larger project in mind. Some form of manipulation and collage. I'm very excited to see what she makes of the already beautiful works of art.

"I feel I am only now getting the feel of working with the coffee, as it really does have a nature all its own."

Drawing inspiration from vintage photographers such as Edward S. Curtis and his famous photos of Native Americans, Imogen Cunningham, Edward S. Curtis, Margaret Bourke-White and Edward Weston I dare you to compare and consider the evolution of the the photographs to painting and then to the much larger worked planed by Erica. This medium is very organic and it seems to me that Chappuis's process is also very organic in philosophy and application.

"I doubt that one could pick out the original photo from my painting, as it has changed a lot in the process."

I'll keep an eye out for post on the larger works intended for the paintings by Erica posted last week and this.

"Okay, next week, for sure, I start putting these paintings through the collage process."

In the mean time enjoy her images and visit her own Blog with much much more to offer in regards to her work which is very much worth the time.

Some information about Erica Chappuis from her personal Website . . . The Art of Erica Chappuis

Erica Chappuis was born in Washington DC . She began taking yearly summer courses at the Corcoran School of Art and studying with independent Washington area artists at age thirteen. In high school she was selected for a special, experimental course in portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution - the first of its kind offered by the Smithsonian.

Chappuis graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She traveled to Switzerland, where she married, and thus gained dual nationality.

Chappuis has been a practicing artist ever since, specializing in erotic and sensual subjects. She is represented in many private collections. Museum representation includes the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Erotic Art Museum in Barcelona, Spain and the collection of the Kinsey Institute for Research, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University. Her work has been featured on the PBS television programs, "Video Detroit" and "Backstage Pass". She is listed in several books, including erotic art books, and Marquis' "Who's Who in American Women".

Coffeeart - The Factory, Coffee on Paper ACEO

2008-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

At An Art Work A Day where Trine Meyer Vogsland has this idea . . .

"Here I will try to take you with me on my journey exploring art. That means that I will show you both my successes and some of my failures."

A recent post Coffeeart - The Factory, Coffee on Paper ACEO depicts just what the title says . . .

Cofeeeart - The Factory,
coffee on paper,
ACEO

Check out the rest of her work at An Art Work A Day. All Bio info is there as well as some very fun art.

MLK In You Coffee?

2008-11-05T07:03:00.000-08:00

Javaman, who sells his coffee paintins on Etsy, might not put MLK in his coffee but he did paint Martin Luther King Jr. using coffee as a medium.He entitled the painting aptly . . . "Dr.King."

I discovered a small brag no a Blog called CrochetCastle Memoirs of a Crochet Diva
. She considered her post ". . . a shameless promotion . . ." but I hardly consider promoting those you love and believe in a shameless act. My hat is off to this Crochet Diva!

Dr. King is 16x20 coffee painting on canvas and was inspired by the famous"I have a dream" speech given by Dr. King.

"There is not much more to say about this painting other than it is really nice to look at in person and the photos do not do it justice."

Rob West, Javaman, is a 35 year old coffee painter who loves coffee so much that he has decided to begin a line of coffee art. His goal is to move on creating art on a serious level.

"I like to also use ink to paint with in my coffee paintings. As of right now my main focus is painting people."

Much as I had discovered with my own coffee paintings at No Such Animal Studios, Mr. West has sealed his painting with acrylic. I've found that Damar varnish has a better effect as it is not as porous but the necessity for sealing against mold and reconstitution by humidity is a must!

If Rorschach Used Coffee . . . Benoist

2008-11-03T06:41:00.000-08:00

Tom Benoist "Beansy" of Rhinocrash painted paper towels of all things the Summer of 2007! What I find most interesting about this project is most people could not figure out that the support was actually paper towels. Very fun. Very Cool. I really like the abstract nature of this very temporary organic collection of work.

"Having them on the wall for a while was a lot of fun. They are a bit like those old psychologist ink blots so it was interesting to hear which ones people liked or even better hated. :) Strangely most people don't guess the paper source (you have to look pretty closely)"

It's very true. some of Tom's work has a Rorschach feel to them. Some have a grain of the wood feel to them. A few of the pieces struck me as having a marble or petrified wood quality and quite a few gave off a mystical almost anthropological aire as if from some Mayan or tribal village in Africa.

"Okay, waste and nature's inevitable reclaiming of the earth aside working with strange media like this makes you look kinda crazy to your friends."

I'm not sure if crazy is how I would look at Tom. Being temporary art and having a meaning beyond the disposable and cultural impact is what increases their actual value far beyond the materialistic one.

If Tom's friends look at him a little crazy it's OK. He's in good company. Take Food sculptures by Jim Victor, "Sculptor-Constructivist," redefine what playing with food is all about. Seriously take a look at his work! Or maybe take a look at the mystical beauty of Sand painting to the fragile spectacle of Ice Sculpture. Even barista latte or coffee art. All very temporary. All very wonderful. Crazy? Maybe but then again . . .

Back on May 12th, 2006 I wrote an entry called What Came From the Artists Was Very High Concept. It was about a show, Menu: edible elements of art, at the Kirkland Arts Center feature some very incredible artists and works created from food products. Take a look at some of images from the show. Again, very crazy people with very crazy artwork!

One of the goals of this show and the Kirkland Arts Center was to show contemporary art in an area that historically hasn’t embraced it. This was approached with the idea of using food as the theme so everyone could connect with the concept.

One of the exhibits at the Menu show I noticed the individual sculptures not only had food in them but each one was a different type of diet. The furthest to the left was a very health diet and the furthest to the right was packed full of Dick’s burgers and greasy fries! To go even further the health diet sculpture had a resemblance to a healthy hourglass figure while the further to the right you go the more bulbous and unflattering the sculptures became. I loved this piece and yes! It was crazy.

This article isn't about the Menu show but about some very cool and maybe crazy artwork created out of temporary materials using coffee as the medium. I wanted to shed some light on what a lot of folks don't know about or haven't considered true art and that is the beauty of something that is done for the artistic value and not for the consideration of monetary value. It's created. It's exists for a period of time. It conveys a message or aesthetic or concept. Then it passes into memory.

Tom's work, or at least the fish eye images of them will stay with me for some time. Thanks for sharing Tom!

Seattle's Coffee Artist - Ezju Live with Kathy Goertzen

2008-10-31T06:13:00.000-07:00

Right after John Sharify of KOMO 4 News ran his feature on Seattle's Coffee Artist entitled "Only in Seattle: Artist Paints with Coffee" Ezju appeared live, interviewed by the Emerald City's Kathy Goertzen!

Kathy Goertzen was very kind and fun, she even had on leather pants! Not what I was expecting at all. She made me feel right at home even though I was terrified. What if I said the wrong thing or froze? It all come off very well I think!

KOMO 4 Evening News. 30 Nov. 2004. ABC. , Seattle. 30 Nov. 2004.

During the John Sharify feature I was filmed painting a piece called The Morning News. Kathy Goertzen gave me the opportunity to show off the finished work live! She asked how I got started painting with coffee and followed up to the new work.

On a side note, right behind me waiting in line for his chance on TV was the Republican candidate for the then (and oddly enough this years) race for the Washington state governors office. He came on some time after me and the whales in Puget Sound!

For those who don't know, Ezju is a Seattle based artist who uses coffee not just as a subject matter but also as an artistic medium. His work centers around coffee culture and the coffee industry with a strong emphasis on the commodities effect on world cultures and vise versa. Ezju is also the lead graphic designer and art director at Ph'Kaki Media & Design.

You can view Ezju's coffee paintings at www.nosuchanimal.net

Flighty Girl Took a Coffee Break

2008-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Flighty Girl took a coffee break and used the article I mentioned a few days ago from Art Projects for Kids - Haunted House Coffee Painting!

Here are a couple images she posted. Her story was short and sweet but the little boy seemed to be having fun despite a cold. I may have to hang up my coffee painting brushes! Apparently anyone can do it!

"I've been cooking up some good indoor activities in preparation for the long winter, and I came across this idea at Art Projects for Kids. It's so perfect for me - I have copious amounts of coffee at all times, am constantly spilling it, so what's the difference if it's them of me? - so the idea of painting with it was right up my alley."

Take a look at my studio Website www.nosuchanimal.net and compare the little boys paintings and mine! Have a cup-o-joe and enjoy both!

Ezju Interviewed by John Sharify of KOMO 4

2008-10-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Ezju's interview with John Miller of Evening Magazine's Miller's Time he was called by KOMO 4 for a feature by John Sharify to air on the 6:00 News.

John Sharify and crew came to Ezju's studio which at the time was located at 1020 First Ave. South in Downtown Seattle. Ezju was working on a piece called The Morning News and was filmed painting this work. Later that night Ezju unveiled the finished painting during a live interview with KOMO 4's Kathy Goertzen! This will be posted later this week.

Sharify, John. "Only in Seattle: Artist Paints with Coffee." 6:00 News. ABC. KOMO 4, Seattle. 30 Nov. 2004.

The various hues of a woman

2008-10-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

A small article I found in the Sakaal Times entitled The various hues of a woman. This article was written by Arwa Janjali and published on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 AT 7:10 PM.

There was some mention of a Kolkata-based painter, Tamali Dasgupta , using coffee powder among other things as a medium.

"Dasgupta uses acrylic but for sketches and other small paintings on paper, she uses lipstick, coffee powder and cut pieces from photographs as her medium."

"My work depicts all the innovations taking place around me concerning women. Since, I am a modern woman myself, I can relate to them and this subject is always there in my subconscious mind. Also, I believe that all artists are lonely in some way and I consider myself lonely too. Hence, loneliness plays an important role in all my paintings," explains Dasgupta, whose main area of work revolves around myriad psychological aspects of modern feminine introspection.

Cofea arabica & The Art of Erica Chappuis

2008-10-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

For years now I've been painting with coffee at No Such Animal Studios as an artistic medium and continuously on the watch for emerging or recently discovered (by me at least) artists who also enjoy non-traditional mediums such as coffee. From time to time a few pop-up and every once in a while that pop-up is very noteworthy as is the case with Erica Chappuis.

When painting with coffee I chose to paint scenes of coffee culture starting in the United States with hopes of traveling the world to other cultures and coffee producing nations. I wanted to show how this commodity was used and it's influences on different walks of life with very different customs and ideas. This project is still in the works. This notion that technique for technique's sake is fine to a point but art should have a higher purpose and I feel that as with my notion of painting world coffee cultures using coffee as an artistic medium Erica Chappuis shares a similar view of art.

Running across Chappuis's Blog Une Vie d'Artiste and her recent work showcased in the entry Cofea arabica was very refreshing in a way that Starbucks could never be again! Her work not just in coffee is very graceful, warm, inviting, full of meaning and life, and sensual. A must see!

Quote from Chappuis's Une Vie d'Artiste (Cofea arabica)

". . . I don't look at a simple painting in an unusual technique as quite enough. For me, it is an element in a painting which should speak in some way which heightens the subject matter with which I am dealing."

Chappuis has discovered what several coffee painters have enjoyed over the years. Coffee helps produce wonderfully warm and inviting images with it's near sepia effect. The types of effects achieved with different coffee techniques is as varied as the possible subject matter and styles.

What sets Erica Chappuis apart from some artists is not just how well rendered her images seem but the warmth and emotional impact of the people in the paintings as well as the strong concept behind Erica's artistic philosophy.

Quote from Chappuis's Une Vie d'Artiste (Cofea arabica)

"I hadn't worked with coffee at all, and it is a beverage with a definitely rich history, much of it Arab and African. The fragrance of it is familiar, warm and comforting. It can signify hospitality in a lonely place - pretty much all over the world."

For more information on Erica Chappuis and her work please visit her Website The Art of Erica Chappuis (http://pages.prodigy.net/erica.chappuis/). Below is some information from her site about the artist.

From Erica Chappuis's Website: The Art of Erica Chappuis

"Erica Chappuis was born in Washington DC . She began taking yearly summer courses at the Corcoran School of Art and studying with independent Washington area artists at age thirteen. In high school she was selected for a special, experimental course in portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution - the first of its kind offered by the Smithsonian."

"Chappuis graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She traveled to Switzerland, where she married, and thus gained dual nationality."

"Chappuis has been a practicing artist ever since, specializing in erotic and sensual subjects. She is represented in many private collections. Museum representation includes the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Erotic Art Museum in Barcelona, Spain and the collection of the Kinsey Institute for Research, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University. Her work has been featured on the PBS television programs, "Video Detroit" and "Backstage Pass". She is listed in several books, including erotic art books, and Marquis' "Who's Who in American Women"."

The Art of Erica Chappuis
http://pages.prodigy.net/erica.chappuis/
Une Vie d'Artiste

Ezju on Evening Magazine's Miller's Time

2008-10-24T06:30:00.001-07:00

When I was first starting out painting with coffee John Miller of Evening magazine's Miller's Time came to my studio apartment in the north end of Seattle for an interview. I had no idea what to expect. A marketing rep from Caffe Vita, a local coffee roaster with several small stores around Seattle, came over to meet with the coffee artist and do some product placement.

John Miller and his crew arrived with lights, cameras, and mics. Very very nice people. Seeing that I was nervous they made me feel right at home in my . . . home.

The result is history so to speak. Enjoy the clip.

Evening Magazine. Miller's Time NBC. KING 5, Seattle. 15 Apr. 2004.

My studio Website, No Such Animal Studios, can be found at www.nosuchanimal.net

Coffee Painted Haunted House Project for Kids!

2008-10-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Crafty Crow, a children's craft collective, posted a link to a fun coffee painting project for kids at Art Project for Kids. The original article was published in a recent Arts & Activities magazine and Kathy Barbro, elementary-age art teacher loved the look so much she passed it on in her Blog Art Project for Kids!

All coffee painting aside, both these Blogs (The Crafty Crow and Art Projects for Kids) are wonderful resources and you should check them out! Enjoy the coffee article as well!

Waiter! There’s a Fish in My Coffee

2008-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Marion Schlegel is a remarkable woman with a rich history, good friends, and a very refreshing approach to painting. On top of all that is the fact that she teaches a technique using coffee as an artistic medium to paint fish of all things.

Her technique? One I haven’t tried yet, instant coffee. She takes a cup of instant coffee and adds approximately 1-2 Tbsp. of hot water to thicken it to a past. On 140 lbs. watercolor paper Marion fixes a sheet of tissue paper using Uhu glue, keeping about 1” away from the edges. An option is to “scamble” up the tissue paper before adhering with the glue. The Uhu also gives a nice effect through the coffee. Marion then wets everything with a baking brush. She paints a fish in coffee, with regular watercolor brushes. Finally she’ll add a bit of watercolor around it with a big chin brush. Marion will often let it dry a bit and paint over it again with the coffee for darker effects.

The effect is a very light hearted and polished work of art.

While Marion’s technique is a definite must in the need-to-try category I’m even more impressed with the life that created this very light hearted and polished artist and teacher. I’ve read books on artist lives, seen movies about them, even lived an artist’s life myself and Marion’s story fits in to a tee.

Currently she is a 58 year old woman living in Terrace, British Columbia. She teaches her art style called Aqua Tinta and dreams of visiting Rome and taking in the masters first hand. Marion has very good friends watching out for her. Sounds common until you consider she has had two brain Aneurysms which almost killed her in 2004. Her short-term memory has been impaired but she can still paint.

Let’s backtrack a few years to Germany circa 1950 give or take a few years. Marion enjoyed art throughout her childhood. While she was in boarding school she had almost daily “private” lessons by an elderly nun, who encouraged Marion to be curious and creative. “I remember those afternoon hours as being peaceful and a lot of fun.”

As a new bride, Marion moved to Hamburg, Germany and became a student as well as a member of Helmut Klein’s Studio 70. During this time she worked in oil, pencil and charcoal.

Studio 70 was famous in Hamburg’s art scene and Klein was an accomplished Graphic Designer with clients including Colgate, Palmolive, Phillips and Beiersdorf. Klein was also well known for an invention known as Peg art (Parvus Experimental Graphic). As a student of Klein’s, Marion copied old masters like Rembrandt, Ruebens, and Duerer. It was during this time that she learned about “conservative” art.

The year was 1976 and Marion began instruction under another well known artist and architect in Hamburg, Ulrich Von Bock. Her education took a dramatically different direction from the teachings of Klein.

Watercolor was the medium and freedom and experimentation were the instructions. Marion and the other students did a lot of “homework.” Ulrich Von Bock discouraged his students from merely copying and introduced them to the abstract. “It was scary at times, but always a lot of fun.”

Marion and the other students had their first show in January of 1979 along with other students from the Free Academy of Arts, Hamburg. The president of the Academy opened the show and was quite impressed by Von Bock’s student’s work. The body of work displayed started out as an experimental project designed by Von Bock who taught Marion for another year.

It was time for Marion and 3 of the other students to break away and start painting on a regular basis as a group. With advice, support, and encouragement by Ulrich Von Bock Marion and her fellow artists founded Aqua Tinta.

Courage was built up and Aqua Tinta dove into the world of Art shows on their own. They were met with quite a bit of success and recognition from the local press. In 1982 Aqua Tinta had their largest Art show in Alstertal (Hamburg North) with about 80 paintings.

Life happened and Aqua Tinta was divided. “Today, Anke works mainly with Photography, Renate died, Kirsi is carrying on the technique we “inherited” in Hamburg North. She is still working in her own gallery and teaching our “Aqua Tinta” technique. Kirsi has published two small books.”

In 1982 Marion continued with shows at the Art Gallery in Terrace, British Columbia, teaching there as well as in the Emily Carr Studio at the college.

Continuing to teach Marion teaches her technique to a 4th grade class at Veritas School. Even though the process was exhausting for her Marion knew the children had a lot of fun. I’ve taught groups of children at Wedgwood Montessori where my daughter attended and know how exhausting and rewarding the experience can be. My hat’s off to Marion.

From one extreme to another, Marion has also taught Alzheimer patients at a local care center. “One 82 year old lady sold her painting for $100.00 at a local coffee shop!!! She did not know she could do this!”

Marion’s students have improvised on her technique. Freda Diensing, famous for her native art and recipient of a national art award, ripped out the tissue paper in the form of a fish (Killer whale) and then glued the fish on the watercolor paper, then painted it. “It looks wonderful!”

In correspondence Marion has reminisced; “It is so funny so, when we lived in Hamburg, Germany, I never wanted to go to Rome. It would have been just a 7 hour drive or so. Now I want to see his (Michelangelo’s) art. But in Germany we have many galleries to go to and study famous paintings. We have a lot of Michelangelo’s copies around too.” Something in common, we would both like to go to Rome someday and experience the art first hand.

Something else I would like to see is more of Marion’s art. In time Marion plans to have a Website up. For now she has created a Facebook profile so you can get to know this remarkable woman and her work as she posts it. I’ll keep you updated as her Web presence grows. In the mean time drop her a line and let her know what you think about her coffee fish!

Coffee Artist Ezju of Seattle The Ph'Kaki Interview

2007-04-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Edward Patrick Kranz better known as Ezju to the world paints scenes of coffee culture as seen through an American's eyes in his home city of Seattle, the new self-proclaimed coffee capital of the world. With works such as Late Night Drip (2005), at the Café (2003), and The Morning News (2004) Ezju captures the over-developed luxury that students, tourists, and business people alike have become accustomed to. In the near future Ezju plans to travel to coffee producing countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Columbia to paint coffee plantation owners and fair trade growers. It will be an interesting study of how coffee has affected their culture in contrast to his existing works from America.

Warm Up Questions!

Ph’Kaki: Tell us about yourself

Ezju: I could tell you some basic history such as I was born in 1968 at Hamet Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania on March 23rd but what fun would that be? Something closer to I collect ugly disfigured dolls and have a serious issue with nose hairs might be a little more enlightening!

When I was growing up two of my best friends were raccoons and I build a full scale bridge of the U.S.S Enterprise in the wooded area across the street from my grandparent's house. All materials for the ship came from a dumpster behind a local electronics store.

The wooded area also served as a Broadway music hall for my cousins and I. Unfortunately only two people showed up, Mr. & Mrs. Moser. They were apparently the only two people we sold tickets to that understood the address written by the 12 year olds! Address: Across the street from grandmother's house"

As far as I know I'm one of the few people who can honestly say they have robbed a moving train! No kidding! If you want details on this one you need to get to know me better and ask over some serious mojitos.I love my wife and both our children more than words can describe. I love our cat not quite as much but enough.

Ph’Kaki: Where were you born, raised and live now?Ezju: As mentioned above I was born in Erie, Pennsylvania right on Lake Erie. I was raised in Erie and spent a great deal of time on Presque Isle (7 mile peninsula in Lake Erie) and Jamestown, New York with my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins.Today I call Seattle my home as it's been for the past decade or more now.

Ph’Kaki: How would you describe your childhood?

Ezju: Umm? I started to a bit in the first question. . .

I spent a lot of time alone exploring the wooded area across the street from my Grandparents home where we lived off and on. I had a daily routine where I would tromp my through the trees looking for good sword sticks and then I would attack all the menacing trees in my path until the stick broke. Some times a dieing tree would fall under my young sword and crash to the ground in a mighty . . . well . . . crash!

Emerging out the other end of the woods I would visit Chico the horse that lived in a small coral in Mr. Hess's yard. Some times Chico would even let me touch him if I had something yummy for him to chomp. Mr. Hess would allow me to help feed Chico when it was time to untie a new bail of hay. It was the bailing twine I was interested in!

Back off to the woods with my bailing twine I could now make a bow and scour the woods for the perfect arrow sticks. Some sticks would just get twine tied to it making it a whip incase I ran into any great buffalo in the little wooded area.

Getting the idea?

Ph’Kaki: How would you describe your life now?

Ezju: I've traded the woods for the city. I've traded the horse for motorcycles (as soon as I get a new one). I've traded raccoons for my family. The rest is about the same if you follow at all.

Ph’Kaki: Tell us about your art training

Ezju: After traveling all around the world to learn from Tibetan monks, Italian and Spanish masters, Japanese print makers, the Pope and some mystical guy in Dubuque, Iowa I decided to be self-taught. I am trained as a computer animator and designer from the Art Institute of Seattle but they didn't teach art there ironically enough. Self-taught it is. Books. Friends. Time. I'm still in training and expect to be so for all my life.

Ph’Kaki: How would you describe your artistic style? Your artistic philosophy?

Ezju: Surrealism & realism. I've never been fond of or drawn to the abstract until recently. Most of my paintings are figurative or portraiture but some of last year's paintings were experimentation with coffee and en caustic. Imperfection is perfection would be my philosophy.

Ph’Kaki: Which artist inspired you most? Which art movement?

Ezju: The artist who inspired me most was a Mexican artist, Carlos, who I worked with at the Seattle Asian Art Museum while I was in school. Not many would know him or his work outside of Mexico City but his attitude and philosophy that things did not need to be perfect to be perfect helped me come out of my artistic shell. Thank you Carlos.

Ph’Kaki: Where do you feel an artist's place is in society?

Ezju: There are many types of artists and as many places in society. Some are content to produce "pretty" art for the sake of an easy market or maybe they just like pretty. Some artists feel they need to be on the bloody edge of controversy pointing out white elephants in culture. The gamut in-between is fairly limitless and they all have a place in society. They are all important.

Ph’Kaki: If money and availability were not an issue, what one painting would be hanging in your home?

Ezju: I would love to frame and display any drawing that my mother did when she was still an artist. Some where along the way she lost the desire to draw and paint. I want to look at her portraits with unfinished noses to remind myself not to give up learning and growing. I would equally love if she found that drive again in art and life.

If you weren't looking for something so sappy I guess I wouldn't mind The Denial of St. Peter by Caravaggio or anything by contemporary Spanish impressionist Jose Royo.

Ph’Kaki: When painting, do you listen to music or is it quiet? If music what kind/artist?

Ezju: Yes. Sometimes loudly other times not so much. The artist and type of music really depends on the mood as does the volume. It also depends on the style I'm painting in. I'm very into Country though it isn't uncommon to hear Classical, Rap, or Punk emulating from my studio.

Ph’Kaki: If given the opportunity, who in the world would you want to sit for a portrait by you? What medium and style would you use?Ezju: My wife would be the first. I would use oils and work in Jose Royo's style if I could master it.

Ph’Kaki: Who is your favorite contemporary artist? Why?

Ezju: José Royo became my favorite contemporary a few years back when I was working for a permanent interior landscape company. We were doing an installation and maintenance call in a home near Seattle and the owner had several Royo originals and prints throughout the house. I fell in love with his seductive style immediately.

The kicker is up 'till this point I have not been a fan of impressionism. My personal aesthetic leans more towards realism and humanism.

Ph’Kaki: Who is your favorite historical artist? Why?

Ezju: Michelangelo comes to mind because he was what I consider the quintessential artist. His work in many mediums was beautiful but he was also an intellectual.

Ph’Kaki: What is your most remarkable personality quark?

Ezju: I am a starter. I have great ideas and get very excited at the prospect of a new project. The down side of that is I get board once the project is underway and I start to look for new projects to start. I have a whole life of unfinished works in many senses of the word that I wish I could finish. I'm getting better at that though!

Ph’Kaki: What interest or hobbies do you have other than fine art?Currently I am restoring a 1973 VW Super Beetle. I've lost count of how many VW Bugs I've owned over the years but the 1973 is the same year as the first one I owned in high school. Ah, memories!Motorcycles hold a special draw if I could just afford a new one! As you probably don't know my last motorcycle burned down the house I was living in some years back now.

Dogs. Love dogs. I may just be one myself if left to my own design.Reading is good.

I usually go in spurts where I'll read quite a few books and then not again for a year or so and then quite a few again. Strange cycle I know.

Ph’Kaki: How do you take your coffee or tea?

Ezju: I like my coffee with cream and sugar or with vanilla soy milk and no sugar. Coffee is a treat as Mocha but that puts way too many inches on the belly to have too often. Tea is usually a black tea with honey and milk or spiced chai.

Ph’Kaki: If a coffee roaster named a blend after you what would it be called? Would it be a light, medium or dark roast?

Ezju: If a coffee roaster was so inclined to name a blend after me it would be called . . . Ezju . . . and most likely be medium to dark roast with a non-acidic body.

All Warmed Up!

Ph’Kaki: The obvious question: why coffee?

Ezju: Back in 2002 I was sitting with a friend in a little café called Marista's just south of Seattle in Federal Way. Our conversation that day centered on what art was and who could do "art". Examples of what we thought art was or was not came up and one of them was Jackson Pollok and his famous technique. My friend who exclaimed that he couldn't even draw a stick figure held up his napkin at this point and said "look! I'm a modern artist!" This sparked a joke where I framed a coffee ring stained paper and placed it in his work area. As a joke the seed was planted.

Some months later I was sitting in the same café thinking of ways to tell my wife, then fiancé, that I lost my job and that I wanted to peruse art as a career. There was a barista at the drive through window with light streaming in all around here like an messiah handing out her caffeinated gospel to all who drove threw. I started to sketch on a napkin with my coffee. The joke that was planted some moths ago started to grow.

In the beginning I had no idea that I would do more than a few novel paintings with my newly discovered mediums. After the first few were done and I showed them to friends, family and a few gallery owners. The response was positive. The more people I talked to the more I realized that not only was coffee a huge part of American culture but being the 2nd largest legal commodity in the world coffee was a very large part of world culture. The more I learned about the history, different countries, and peoples that are involved in global coffee culture the more I wanted to peruse my Coffee Culture series painted with coffee.

Ph’Kaki: Describe your coffee "paint" making process.

Ezju: I knew coffee would stain and would be quite permanent. I have enough white business shirts embarrassed just before important meetings to know its resilience. What I found with my first coffee sketch was the tonal range was limited even with glazing.

Being the curious lad that I am the experiments to create a coffee medium was on. I tried several recipes from adding coffee to acrylic medium to brewing coffee in linseed oil and met some limited achievement. Then I remembered a old school exercise where the students would boil down salt water to find concentrated salt left on the bottom of the pan so I tried condensing large amounts of coffee.

Ph’Kaki: What is your coffee painting technique?

Ezju: I have a couple. The first is applying the coffee paint much like a watercolor depending on full saturation for the darks and thinning the paint out with water for the lighter tonal values. Some times I add a bit of pigment for more colorful image.

The second technique is layering coffee paint, applied by brush or hand, between en caustic (wax medium) applications and building up layers.

Ph’Kaki: What do you find most unique about coffee as an artistic medium?

Ezju: Using food products as an artistic medium has been done periodically throughout history. Some artists use food as a sensory stimulant to produce their art and use food products as well.Most people don't know that if you mix salmon eggs and goose feces you'll get a rich red pigment or if you take horse urine and put it on copper the chemical reaction produces a wonderful blue pigment.

What does this all have to do with coffee being unique? Coffee is a global commodity and social icon that most cultures can relate to on some level. It's a social equalizer of sorts. It's not something one expects to see on a canvas but it does very well there to produce images as well as open minds to a different way of thinking.

Ph’Kaki: Have you ever drank or tasted your coffee paint? Describe it!

Ezju: Yes. Early batches of coffee paint where horrible. I was burring my paint much the way Starbucks burns their coffee beans they serve. More recent batches have had a very rich almost chocolate pallet to them. One dipped pinkie is like a quad espresso!

Ph’Kaki: Have you ever had or made others taste your coffee paint? Describe their reaction!

Ezju: I'm a bit of a sadist sometimes so of course I temp folks to taste my coffee paint! The reaction is akin to someone biting into a lemon. Wrinkled up faces galor.

Ph’Kaki: How do you think history books will look back on Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?

Ezju: I want history to spell my name right and not celebrate my birth day on a different day than I was born because it more convenient.

I'm not sure about my actual contribution at this point. As far as my fine art career I'm still very young and not yet a master. In time I would like to be a master of my art and pass that along to my children. I'm not sure how the history books will record that but that's what I want.

Ph’Kaki: How do you want history to remember you and your contribution to the art world?

Ezju: History is a funny thing. It will all come down to how popular the coffee painting movement will become and if one or more of the artists involved can become popular enough to warrant more than a foot note. I don't expect much more than a foot note but a few paragraphs would be nice. Maybe a chapter?

Ph’Kaki: How do you want history to remember Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?

Ezju: Most artists and art movements are a result of the world they live in. The use of coffee as an artistic medium definitely is a product of the times. The actual use as well as the subject matter is of cultural significance. This applies to artists and art in the United States and it's heavy commercialization and marketing of a leisurely lifestyle outlined by $4 cups of coffee as well as tradition steeped cultures in the east depicting a completely different lifestyle and society.

I want the history books to look at coffee artists and their art in the same light as they do the impressionists and how they were a product of their times.

Ph’Kaki: What significance does coffee play in your culture? Your life?

Ezju: This is a culture that will complain about $2.50 per gallon of gas but pay on average $3.50 for a 16oz mocha. That comes out to roughly $28.00 a gallon for coffee. I think that illustrates the significance coffee plays in my culture.

My life. I drink it for pleasure. I drink it for stimulus when I'm working late. I drink it because I'm board. I paint with it. I get a sense of accomplishment from my coffee paintings and sometimes recognition and money. Coffee has even made me some friends all over the world. I'd say coffee has a significant place in my life.

Ph’Kaki: What cultural influences do you feel most impacted and/or are most reflected in your work?

Ezju: Most of my work is observation. I look at people and situations. Most of my life has been exposed to my culture with limited access to others. My education and work experience has been in design and branding so in addition to being a consumer I am very caught up in the whole corporate America culture. This has had a significant influence on my work, choice of subject matter, and medium.

Ph’Kaki: Do you think the recent proliferation of coffee artists around the world is Zeist Geist?

Ezju: Without a doubt and it's about time!

Ph’Kaki: Some people think Arfé or coffee art/painting is just a novelty or quick passing fad. Do you believe this? Where do you see this movement going in the near and distant future?

Ezju: Since I started these interviews with the initial dozen or so artists I've found around the word at least 3 more have emerged. They found me some how. I'm starting to believe that this movement will continue to grow and will not be considered a novelty or fad.

In the near future I would love to do a show here in Seattle with as many of the coffee artists from around the world represented and in attendance. I think that would be something.

Ph'Kaki: Has commercial advertising, marketing and design had an impact on your art, subject matter and/or decision to use coffee as an artistic medium?

Ezju: As mentioned earlier I work in the design industry directly dealing with marketing and advertising. I also am a partner in an online entertainment magazine dedicated to promoting independent artists around the world.I can't see how living in consumer driven America and being involved in the design industry can not have had a significant impact on my art.

Ph’Kaki: How do patrons and art admirers describe your work?

Ezju: Most are in disbelief that it is coffee. Once denial has passed they are fascinated that the level of detail that can be reached and questions ensue. Words like unique, clever, and fun are often used to describe my work.

Ph’Kaki: How do critics describe your work?

Ezju: Honestly I have not had much in the way of critical review. In one sense I am relived. Art critics can be brutal and being untrained I'm afraid of what they may say. On the other hand I would love to know how I stack up.

Ph’Kaki: How as the media received you and your work?

Ezju: Over the past few years I have had TV news features, live interviews, newspaper articles and even feature on the cover a magazine. I've been very flattered and received better than I deserve.In the future I would like for the media to focus less on the novelty of coffee as an artistic medium an report more on the cultural and social messages and implications.

Ph’Kaki: What level of satisfaction and success have you had on a personal, social, spiritual, and commercial level with your art?

Ezju: I am very happy with the success of my work. Largely I paint for self enjoyment though I do feel a sense of pride when a friend or family member likes a piece or asks if I could paint something for them.Being recognized by the media or patrons is a whole different level of satisfaction. I'm still learning how to come to terms with this.

Ph’Kaki: What is your life dream in regards to your art? Have you fulfilled it? If not how do you plan to reach it?

Ezju: I would love to successful enough to work on my art full time and not have to worry about my family's financial well being. I would be able to produce more work at a higher quality both in workmanship and concept if the burden of working for a living were lifted.

Ph’Kaki: During interviews a local radio personality, Ichabod Caine on KMPS, ends his interviews with the question I leave you with. What is your very first child hood memory?

Ezju: My first childhood memory is around 2 years old and playing in the backyard in a flexible tunnel tube.Ichabad Cain on KMPS asks this question and then finds some correlation between what the musical artist is currently doing and the memory. I don't know what the relationship is here. If anyone can see it please e-mail me and let me know!

Visit Ezju's Web site: No Such Animal Studios »

Coffee Artist Amita Chudasama of India Interview with Ezju

2007-04-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

Warm Up Questions!

Tell us about yourself

Since childhood, I was associated with an art. Other than creating painting; fashion
designing is another interesting area.

Where were you born, raised and live now?

I was born & raised in Mahuva – a town of Gujarat, India. As of now I live with
my family in another city of Gujarat – "Bhavnagar".

How would you describe your childhood?

Need and struggle are what excite and inspire us. I have always tried to give priority
to my art. Being an elder sister & to perform my duties, I had to theft my own moment
from this artist life. (Editor's Note: Meaning she had to "steal" time from her
art for family duties. JP) Probably now it is time to perform my role as an artist.

Coffee has completely changed our art style accidentally. Working with clay painting
has been also a nice experience.

How would you describe your life now?

I have always tried to see art as my profession. After completion of my degree in
Business Management I had two questions to answer myself – What & Why? I was eager
to make a career in advertisement. But our interest in promoting coffee & clay as
a medium of painting become our primary goal. Today when I meet someone, I feel
proud in interchanging my visiting card where it says “Mira Chudasama – Coffee Artist”.

Tell us about your art training

I had never undergone special art training earlier. "Rangoli" which is painted in
front of houses with floral & color was my first art that I learned from my grandmother
& mother. My grandfather has always appreciated my skills as an artist. That kept
my art alive. Probably my trial after creating colorful design & natural subjects
from anything that has color helped us in meeting art of coffee painting.

Before I joined fine arts of college; art has completely resided in my heart but
I needed to learn techniques & practices of an art. I learned multiple art styles
during my three years training in city based Fine Arts College.

How would you describe your artistic style? Your artistic philosophy?

Oh!! It’s certainly difficult & important question. Love your subject, expression
& interest and never limit yourself is only my artistic style.

Let it be any medium or moment; art is always an Aspiration to creation, Requisition
to carve history & Temptation to bring alive everything.

Which artist inspired you most? Which art movement?

title="Ajanta - Ellora’s carvings" />

I like Ajanta - Ellora’s carvings most. They were built between 7th and 13th Century.

Where do you feel an artist's place is in society?

Without an art; everything is monotony in this world. Thus artist has great responsibility
to make this world colorful & lively.

If money and availability were not an issue, what one painting would be hanging
in your home?

Not sure for a painting but I wish if I can live near by "Taj Mahal" where I can
see its beauty anytime.

When painting, do you listen to music or is it quiet? If music what kind/artist?

Yes. I love Gazals.

If given the opportunity, who in the world would you want to sit for a portrait
by you? What medium and style would you use?

My grandmother!! For sure, I would catch her expression & love towards me with
clay & coffee.

Who is your favorite historical artist? Why?

Picaaso and Turner.

What interest or hobbies do you have other than fine art?

Music (Gazals by Hariharan), Traveling & Cooking

How do you take your coffee or tea?

Tea with elichi & ginger!!

If a coffee roaster named a blend after you what would it be called? Would it be
a light, medium or dark roast?

Not sure.

All Warmed Up!

The obvious question: why coffee?

This is not the first time we (My sister & I) are using painting with very different
pigment or medium. We have simply used clay too. Yet we need to use oil color to
give brunt umber touches to our clay paintings. We have always been near to nature
and loved liveliness. To achieve liveliness & natural shades of historical mosque
carvings, we did many trials. Nothing happened accidentally. We tried a lot with
tea or clay. But coffee worked better.

Describe your coffee "paint" making process.

Mostly we use coffee with water. Sometime to achieve darkness; we boil it as well.

What is your coffee painting technique?

Coffee-painting technique requests not to place a canvas in standing position to
avoid the spreading of shades. Blend water with coffee in different extent to create
variety of shades of brown. This will enhance layer development in the painting.
Process of repeatedly applying the brush with added coffee paint will help the middle
portion emerge bit darker to differentiate it from light tone on outlines. The technique
is to use coffee powder mixed with water and depending on the density of the solution,
the shades also change. White space in the canvas adds to the contrast.

What do you find most unique about coffee as an artistic medium?

Shine and a pleasant aroma!!

Have you ever drank or tasted your coffee paint? Describe it!

Never done yet!! But yes I had drunk coffee while painting many times.

Have you ever had or made others taste your coffee paint? Describe their reaction!

Definitely others try to smell them. Yes, they get assured after smelling coffee’s
aroma in painting.

How do you think history books will look back on Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting,
and coffee artists?

No doubt where there are numerous coffee lovers around; coffee paintings would be
admired most.

How do you want history to remember you and your contribution to the art world?

If my grandpa would have not appreciated my early steps towards art; my sister or
I would have never been able to contribute so far. Being an elder sister; I had
lot of responsibilities. However my mother & siblings never let me put my art away.
It took me to 28 - 30 years to get my name printed as an artist in newspaper or
say a chance to display my art first time.

Today I believe that if you need to struggle to survive your art then do it. God
hasn’t gifted this art to everyone.

How do you want history to remember Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee
artists?

If someone likes / buys coffee painting only because of it is made of coffee (oh!
That’s what we drink daily) it would be a great misunderstanding. Coffee is another
distinct medium with its amazing shining & great aroma to art. What if you color
a sculpture made of stone; probably it loses it's natural beauty. Irrespective coffee
painting is made of single shade; it breathes natural beauty of coffee.

What significance does coffee play in your culture? Your life?

Since I started painting with coffee; coffee has achieved precedence in my life.
Whenever I am so named as a coffee artist, I thank coffee a lot for being so distinct.

What cultural influences do you feel most impacted and/or are most reflected in
your work?

Every culture is distinct. I respect each one of them. However villages have most
impacted in my paintings.

Before I contacted you, how aware of other artists who use coffee as an artistic
medium?

Honestly I keep myself away from news & reading. But I come to know about you &
other artists from Mira.

Some people think Arfé or coffee art/painting is just a novelty or quick passing
fad. Do you believe this? Where do you see this movement going in the near and distant
future?

I don’t believe so. With respect to distant future; we all know that time changes
everything so fast. If I visit any national art exhibition today I will find most
of selected entries are of modern art where thoughts have taken place then realistic
art.

With respect to coffee, most visitors in display kept asking me about life of coffee
painting. How to preserve them is first & foremost question?

But everyone is aware of its ingredient & admires it. I have found them expressing
wonderful usage of coffee.

I believe that anything survives only if it has followers. Irrespective painting
with coffee is not easy & we have few in our team as of now; we will see number
of great coffee painting artists in future.

Has commercial advertising, marketing and design had an impact on your art, subject
matter and/or decision to use coffee as an artistic medium?

(Can you please elaborate? Do you mean if any coffee house / companies did help
us or if we advertised coffee paintings?)

How do patrons and art admirers describe your work?

I love listening ‘That’s Wonderful / That’s Amazing” from them.

How do critics describe your work?

Everyone likes this idea. But most of them carry doubt of its preservation.

How as the media received you and your work?

I am personally thankful to CNBC Awaz taking initiative to broadcast our coffee
paintings in news. During display at state art gallery, other leading media and
newspapers contacted us & published.

What level of satisfaction and success have you had on a personal, social, spiritual,
and commercial level with your art?

As I said earlier, art is my life. Earlier I didn’t make my art as profession, now
we are thinking of it.

What is your life dream in regards to your art? Have you fulfilled it? If not how
do you plan to reach it?

Oh!! Great applause in praise of my art and at least one national award for art!!

During interviews a local radio personality, Ichabod Caine on KMPS, ends his interviews
with the question I leave you with. What is your very first child hood memory?

That’s wonderful question. Daily visiting market & buying ice-candy with my grandfather
is my one of the unforgotten childhood memories. I had always been special for him.

Coffee Artist Mira Chudasama of India Interview with Ezju

2007-04-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

Warm Up Questions!

Tell us about yourself

By profession; I am an artist & designer. Other than paintings;
I love designing web sites, logos, branding, advertisements and animation.

Where were you born, raised and live now?

I was born in India at a small but very cultural and arty town
of Gujarat - “Mahuva”. However my days of childhood and education were
spent in street of another city - “Bhavnagar”. Currently I am practicing
my art at Hyderabad.

How would you describe your childhood?

Attending art competitions & returning successfully with almost
first and second prize are lively chapters of my childhood. Thanks to
my elder sister from whom I learned this wonderful art.

How would you describe your life now?

I have always tried to see art as my profession. After completion
of my degree in Business Management I had two questions to answer myself
– What & Why? I was eager to make a career in advertisement. But our interest
in promoting coffee & clay as a medium of painting became our primary
goal. Today when I meet someone, I feel proud in interchanging my visiting
card where it says “Mira Chudasama – Coffee Artist”.

Tell us about your art training

Honestly, I learned it from my elder sister whom I consider
a born artist. I did my further art study at city based college of art.

How would you describe your artistic style? Your artistic philosophy?

I never wished to bind myself in a single art style. Those
who visit my display always look for unique art style in my paintings.
Even god has not made this world with one art style.

Although I love to use single shade of coffee
in my paintings, I have not yet forgotten the magic of primary colors.

I love to do ‘Abstract Art’, ‘Knife Work’,
‘Glass Painting’, ‘Mosaic & Cubism’, ‘Portrait’, ‘Nature Studies’, ‘Wild
Life’, ‘Floral Art’, ‘Miniature’, ‘Landscapes’, ‘Folk Art’ and ‘Modern
Art’. I use various mediums or pigments to form art including Coffee,
Clay, Oil color, Water color, Egg, Oil Pastel, Ink, Acrylic color and
sand.

Which artist inspired you most? Which art movement?

Not sure about inspiration but I like Van Gogh & Turner’s paintings
and their art styles.

Where do you feel an artist's place is in society?

Artists are not only visionary but also excellent history writers.
Artists make present immortal. They weave culture and tradition in their
art.

However we are talking of bitter truth of
the society where most of artists are poor, unemployed and live in slums.
The society realizes their value only when they are standing at gates
of heaven or reborn at any other corner of this world.

If money and availability were not an issue, what one painting
would be hanging in your home?

Turner’s painting ‘Sun Rising Through Vapour’.

When painting, do you listen to music or is it quiet? If music
what kind/artist?

Oh! Yes – I love music. Nothing special but I love pleasant
songs.

If given the opportunity, who in the world would you want to
sit for a portrait by you? What medium and style would you use?

I portrait expressions rather than people. So I am not sure
about any personality of this world.

Who is your favorite historical artist? Why?

Van Gogh’s passion, brushstrokes, art styles & attachment to
art made me admirer of him. ‘Sunflowers’ & 'Starry Night' are my favorite
paintings.

What interest or hobbies do you have other than fine art?

Gardening, observation, Music & Traveling

How do you take your coffee or tea?

By habit, I take tea generally. Ginger tea is my special one.

If a coffee roaster named a blend after you what would it be
called? Would it be a light, medium or dark roast?

Hmmm. Not sure.

All Warmed Up!

The obvious question: why coffee?

This is not the first time we (My sister & I) are using painting
with very different pigment or medium. We have simply used clay too. Yet
we need to use oil color to give brunt umber touches to our clay paintings.
We have always been near to nature and loved liveliness. To achieve liveliness
& natural shades of historical mosque carvings, we did many trials. Nothing
happened accidentally. We tried a lot with tea or clay. But coffee worked
better.

Describe your coffee "paint" making process.

Mostly we use coffee with water. Sometime to achieve darkness;
we boil it as well.

What is your coffee painting technique?

Coffee-painting technique requests not to place a canvas in
standing position to avoid the spreading of shades. Blend water with coffee
in different extent to create variety of shades of brown. This will enhance
layer development in the painting. Process of repeatedly applying the
brush with added coffee paint will help the middle portion emerge bit
darker to differentiate it from light tone on outlines. The technique
is to use coffee powder mixed with water and depending on the density
of the solution, the shades also change. White space in the canvas adds
to the contrast.

What do you find most unique about coffee as an artistic medium?

Shine and a pleasant aroma!!

Have you ever drank or tasted your coffee paint? Describe
it!

Oh!! Never

Have you ever had or made others taste your coffee paint?
Describe their reaction!

Honestly I avoid seeing visitor touching or smelling my work.
Ultimately that is a painting not a coffee!!

How do you think history books will look back on Arfé, coffee
art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?

Sooner or later… every one of us will accept coffee as a new
medium. I respect Arfé and have confidence in coffee that it will make
it's space soon in the art world.

How do you want history to remember you and your contribution
to the art world?

Neither my sister nor I had ever faced media earlier. Our aim
to promote art of coffee painting gave us that power & confidence to do
so. When we tried with coffee somewhere in 1999 or 2000; we were part
of our small area. Later we made it town then city & now country. We have
learned that an artist’s life is not so easy. The only comfort & cheers
we receive is to paint with coffee.

In the future if history writes us; I would
love to see our names together as we have sipped our coffee together.

How do you want history to remember Arfé, coffee art, coffee
painting, and coffee artists?

IN COFFEE LETTERS!! Art of Coffee painting is really revolutionary.
Probably I have faced the question of it's life a number of times. I strongly
believe that everything needs concern and care. Everyone who loves coffee
will nurture coffee painting & coffee art. Art spirit of coffee artists
would make history to write about this ground-breaking art.

What significance does coffee play in your culture? Your life?

As of now I would say that coffee has changed my last five
to six years. In life; I would like to be known as coffee artist rather
then simply artist.

What cultural influences do you feel most impacted and/or
are most reflected in your work?

I admire & respect all different cultures. When my work includes
mosque carving, it also includes temple carving and coliseum. I love wild
life & nature as subjects. Yet culture of ‘Kutch” & “Saurashtra” are most
reflected in my work.

Before I contacted you, how aware of other artists who use
coffee as an artistic medium?

While hosting my art & painting site I got a touch of the internet.
At that time I read a few articles which were also talking about coffee
paintings. This was enough to know that coffee is proving itself everywhere.

Do you think the recent proliferation of coffee artists around
the world is Zeist Geist?

Yes.

Some people think Arfé or coffee art/painting is just a novelty
or quick passing fad. Do you believe this? Where do you see this movement
going in the near and distant future?

Coffee is everywhere. Everyone starts life with it. Hanging
coffee is novelty. But it will make its space. Those who visit my display
always ask me if I can teach them. This clearly shows their deep interests
in coffee art.

Has commercial advertising, marketing and design had an impact
on your art, subject matter and/or decision to use coffee as an artistic
medium?

(Can you please elaborate? Do you mean if any coffee house
/ companies did help us or if we advertised coffee paintings?)

How do patrons and art admirers describe your work?

They are surprised by seeing portraits which we have created
using coffee. How can one create such nice portraits with coffee?

How do critics describe your work?

They are worried about life of coffee painting. How long would
it exist without any damage?

How as the media received you and your work?

I am personally thankful to CNBC Awaz taking initiative to
broadcast our coffee paintings in news. During display at state art gallery,
other leading media and newspapers contacted us & published.

What level of satisfaction and success have you had on a personal,
social, spiritual, and commercial level with your art?

Other than commercially, I am very much satisfied.

What is your life dream in regards to your art? Have you fulfilled
it? If not how do you plan to reach it?

This is just a beginning. I wish if I can meet different cultures
& catch them on my canvas using coffee. I would say, Arfe 2007 would fulfill
lots of my dreams.

During interviews a local radio personality, Ichabod Caine
on KMPS, ends his interviews with the question I leave you with. What
is your very first child hood memory?

Most of the times, I recall those narrow streets, farms & hills
of my grandpa’s village. Daily evening we (My siblings, Grandfather &
I) would used to pass through village enjoying scenic beauty. None of
us can forget railway tracks crossing the farms.

Visit Amita's & Mira's Web site: Coffee Paintings »

Amita's & Mira's Fine Art Web Site Art and Painting »

Their Coffee Painting Blog Coffee Painting Blog »

Coffee Reaction

2007-01-02T15:52:00.001-08:00

Beautiful clip with animated coffee decorations reacting to music.

Over the past year or so there has been a proliferation of “coffee art” videos featuring the foam art baristas make on the tops of coffee. I think I even have posted one in an earlier blog entry here at Uncommon Grounds (Coffee Talk). I’ve hesitated to add any of them to this site because of the commonness of these videos but I came across one via another blog - http://www.coffeeandcaffeine.com/archives/coffee-art-video-gilkatho and found it to be very beautiful, unique, artistic, and very well done.

Enjoy.

- Ezju

Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju)
No Such Animal Studios
Artist
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

Ph’Kaki Media & Design | Ph’Kaki Entertainment
Art Director/Co-Founder
ezju@phkaki.com

Coffee Artist Ryan L. Lewis of Wilmington North Carolina Interview by Ezju

2007-01-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

Coffee Artist Ryan L. Lewis of Wilmington North Carolina
Interview with Ezju

The obvious question: why coffee?

Why not? As a small boy I watched a Cuban man paint in coffee & I enjoyed his exhibit very much. I always wanted to try it. I was intrigued by the many variations that you could get with really only using one color.

Describe your coffee "paint" making process.

I am not picky with the types of coffee that I choose to paint with. Mostly I will use what ever comes cheapest for me. Sometimes I will brew espresso. Most times I will just brew a small super strong dark cup of coffee. Then I let the cups sit and thicken, adding water as needed.

What is your coffee painting technique?

The technique I use is a basic one much the same of that of a watercolor painting. I usually use a simple system (if you could call it a system) - a light and a dark blend of coffee to get all the shades I need.

What do you find most unique about coffee as an artistic medium?

It is something so common to most people. I mean it’s in everyone kitchen but most people won’t paint with it. So I suppose the reaction I get from viewers is unique to me. But it’s really right in front of everyone’s noses.

Have you ever drank or tasted your coffee paint? Describe it!

No. It tastes & smells horrible actually. Entirely too strong.

Have you ever had or made others taste your coffee paint? Describe their reaction!

No.

How do you think history books will look back on Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?

Well hopefully we will be taken serious. It’s actually a fairly challenging art form.

How do you want history to remember you and your contribution to the art world?

That guy really liked coffee!

How do you want history to remember Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?

That a few special artists chose a special medium to portray their ideas.

What significance does coffee play in your culture? Your life?

I drink it most of the day through so it plays a big part in my life. Painting with it has just become a natural extension of my love for creating art and coffee.

What cultural influences do you feel most impacted and/or are most reflected in your work?

I try to capture a flair of what we use most in the coffee world “the coffee cup”. Nothing to complicated just coffee art with a coffee theme, most times “human situations” for the coffee cups.

Before I contacted you, how aware of other artists who use coffee as an artistic medium?

I saw a few of them online, I was aware of the art form. I wanted it to do it my way though.

Do you think the recent proliferation of coffee artists around the world is Zeist Geist?

I think it’s a good thing there are others doing it. Viewers love it! We should all do more! W have something in our grasp that is simple but still beyond most “normal” people’s comprehension.

Some people think Arfé or coffee art/painting is just a novelty or quick passing fad. Do you believe this? Where do you see this movement going in the near and distant future?

I don’t think this is a fad. There is a long history actually, one that I myself am learning about. I feel that the movement will grow over the years.

Has commercial advertising, marketing and design had an impact on your art, subject matter and/or decision to use coffee as an artistic medium?

I have had current events impact a lot of my coffee images. For example I painted a paratrooper coffee cup jumping out of an airplane & also a nuclear bomb being dropped into a cup. So yes I would admit that some of my work is impacted by current events.

How do patrons and art admirers describe your work?

Most people don’t even realize what is created with until you tell them. They enjoy it.How do critics describe your work?

Dark and scented of coffee.

How as the media received you and your work?

At my first showing I sold a really large coffee painting for a nice price. Everyone at the showing seemed to like the piece more than my usual style of work. As a whole the local media here in Wilmington NC has been supportive but honestly I think that they are distraught and confused about what I am doing. That’s fine with me. I appreciate press but that isn’t why I do what I do.

What level of satisfaction and success have you had on a personal, social, spiritual, and commercial level with your art?

The success of allowing people to view the work is magic enough. I have met some great artists & friends through the art.

What is your life dream in regards to your art? Have you fulfilled it? If not how do you plan to reach it?

Wow. I think about that everyday. The dream is just to create as much as I can for as long as I am able. To leave behind an archive of my thoughts for others to enjoy. It is a life’s work.

During interviews a local radio personality, Ichabod Caine on KMPS, ends his interviews with the question I leave you with. What is your very first child hood memory?

Something with diapers?

Visit Ryan's Web site: The Coffee Corporation »

Contact Ryan L. Lewis by E-mail: obscuraproductions@yahoo.com

Korean Broadcast Service KBS flew out from L.A. out to Wilmington, N.C. to interview coffee artist, Ryan L. Lewis for an upcoming documentary film and shoot his art.

The doc film is based on addictions / effects of caffeine & alcohol, funded by KBS The Korean Broadcasting Service. A demo on HD camera of how the art is created & an in depth interview was done.

Plug:

I am producing an audio CD release, an audio experience based on the making of, the drinking o and the enjoyment of coffee laced with ambient sounds, samples,

gadgets & field recordings. It will be coming out on my record label numberonenoise.com.

- Ezju

Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju)
Fine Artist
No Such Animal Studios
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

Art Director/Co-Founder
Ph'Kaki Media & Design | Ph'Kaki Entertainment
ezju@phkaki.com

Independent Artists Forum - Ph'orum!

First post of 2007 - BUT IS IT ART?

2007-01-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

This quote appeared in the My Name is William Smythe blog - http://mynameiswilliamsmythe.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-post-of-2007.html

My wife and I visited the Museum of Modern Art while in New York City. One
night each week admission is free; Target Corp. foots the bill which is quite
generous since tickets normally cost 20 bucks. On “Free Friday Nights” thousands
of people flock to the MoMA to enjoy artistic masterpieces completely
gratis.

Sadly, the state of modern art is such that free is just about the right
price.

Artists continue to bamboozle the elite. Spill coffee on a canvass, put it
in a frame and tell Salon Magazine that it symbolizes modern womyn (sic)
breaking the yoke of male oppression and pensive leftists wearing black
turtlenecks and berets will beat a path to your door.

When I first read it I started to become agitated considering my coffee art connection! Then I read the entire blog entry from start to finish. Ironically enough the topic was about what passes for art these days which was the discussion that started my Coffee Culture series a brewing!

If you get a chance to read this blog please do. It is well written.

- Ezju

Edwad Patrick Kranz (Ezju)
Fine Artist - ezju@nosuchanimal.net
No Such Animal Studios

Ph'Kaki Media & Design Ph'Kaki Entertainment
Art Director/Co-Founder

Ph'Kaki Entertainment Ph'orum

Interview with Coffee Artist Ryan L. Lewis of Wilmington North Carolina

2006-12-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months I have been interviewing some of the coffee artists mentioned in this blog. I'm not done with all of them yet but I've started to publish the interviews in Ph'Kkai Entertainment - http://www.phkaki.com

The interview with Ryan Lewis can be found in the December issue

http://www.phkaki.com/december/2006/articles/ryan-lewis.htm

I'll re-publish the interview here shortly as well as the others!

- Ezju

My hat is off - No Shyness here!

2006-11-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

Wow. It’s been a while since I’ve made an entry! Glad to be back! My family just moved into a new house and No Such Animal Studios is in the process of moving too so I’ve been a busy boy. I’ve been off line for a bit but now the internet is up and running in the new studio space so it’s time to catch up!

I’m working on a new Media & Design Company which also serves as an independent artist’s online magazine called Ph’Kaki Entertainment. You should check it out if you have a moment!

Enough about me . . . Mira & Amita Chudasama have been very busy with their coffee art! Check out the new work on their Blog »

Shyness »

Dal Lake »

Aged Eyes »

All three pieces are very expressive, beautiful, and continue giving a glimpse into these extraordinary woman’s lives and culture. I feel that the Chudasama sisters work and subject matter are among the most important of all the coffee artists to date. My hat is off to the two of them!

Mira & Amita are working on a new name and logo for their Art Gallery. Take a look at their Blog posting, The Art Of Coffee Painting By Amita - Mira Chudasama, on the new branding and leave comments for them in regards to this. Hey, while you’re at it leave some comments on there art work too!

The idea behind the name is endearing though I had some trouble at first discerning the “W” in waves. With a little redesign it would work.

“Rashmi means - “Ray of Light”. Actually this gallery name is derived from our sister’s name - Rashmi. She has always been lucky for us. So we wanted to start our art gallery with her name.”

2006 Kona Coffee Culture Festival

2006-10-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort hosts two days of java-laced dining, art and international cupping competition, November 8 & 9, 2006

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I’m going to miss it by 5 Months. November 8th – 9th at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort. April is when I’ll be in Hawaii for a much needed family vacation (I plan to squeeze in some Kona Coffee Culture painting in-between surfing and rum!

2006 Kona Coffee Culture Festival will feature professional island chefs ‘brewing” up culinary cuisine with 100% Kona coffee as an ingredient. Cupping contests pitting the nations’s top Kona Coffee farmers against each other for the honor of the finest beans.

The infinitely cool event is the festivals Gevalia Coffee Art Exhibit featuring original works that feature and/or have been inspired by Kona Coffee!

The Kona Coffee Culinary Invitational and other coffee-inspired activities taking place at the Outrigger Keauhou Beach Resort are part of the Big Island's Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, Hawaii's oldest food event, scheduled for November 3 to 12, 2006. For more information about the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, contact Current Events at 808-326-7820 or visit http://www.konacoffeefest.com/.

For the full article:
For the caffeinated traveler: coffee, food and art in paradise
Hauptseite / Nachrichten
NR: PRN00000002514
28.09.2006 [07:58]

Coffee Culture at Adobe . . . Ezju too!

2006-09-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

A few days late but here is the skinny on Ezju’s Coffee Culture & Barista Latte exhibit opening on Friday, September 29th 2006.

As most of you know, Adobe Systems Incorporated makes wonderful graphics software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and much more. Keeping with the art mind set, the Adobe campus in Fremont (Seattle, WA) has an art gallery in their building housing the Adobe University. Ezju and his coffee paintings have the privilege of hanging at the Adobe U Art Gallery from September 29th through mid-November.

This show is for Adobe employees, contractors, guests, students and visitors but the general public can still view the works quite well from the glass curtain wall along the building front.

All in all it was a wonderful turn out! I would like to thank everyone who came to the opening of the show! I loved your questions and of course the compliments. If you have any more questions about the show, my work please feel free to contact me any time at ezju@nosuchanimal.net.

A special thanks to all the folks who worked on brining coffee culture to Adobe and all the help setting up the show.

A few humble cell phone photos (my digital camera died)

Korean Broadcast Service KBS flew out from L.A. out to Wilmington, N.C. to interview coffee artist, Ryan L. Lewis

2006-09-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

"Korean Broadcast Service KBS flew out from L.A. out to Wilmington, N.C. to interview coffee artist, Ryan L. Lewis for an upcoming documentary film and shoot his art. The doc film is based on addictions / effects of caffeine & alcohol, funded by KBS The Korean Broadcasting Service. A demo on HD camera of how the art is created & an in depth interview was done."

This is the kind of thing I’m talking about! How cool is it that coffee art is becoming so relevant that a film crew would fly across the country to interview an artist about it?!

The subject matter of the documentary includes caffeine as an addiction. I’ve always jested about “Caffeine My Drug of Choice” and even thought fleetingly about its social impact in this context but never on the level of this film. This is a film I would like to see.

Part of what my art is about is observations of culture through coffee. The first series takes a look at the American lifestyle that has grown up around coffee culture in the past 15 years. Part of the American lifestyle is excess, abuse and addiction. This is not something that I have considered for my series but I will have to seriously reconsider this topic.

Congratulations to Ryan Lewis on the interview and his success with coffee art! For more information on Ryan and his work please visit his Web site at http://www.thecoffeeartcorporation.com

Ezju
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

www.nosuchanimal.net

Jean-Marie Peigna Not Lost But Missed

2006-09-07T11:44:00.000-07:00

In a few posts on this Blog I asked for help to find some coffee artists who have been elusive. Professor Francisco Rivera was one of them and a reader pointed the Professor and his wife in my direction. I love the power of the internet! Another artist I was eagerly looking for was Jean-Marie Peigna; a coffee artist who has been working with coffee as a medium for a very very long time. I considered him the Grandfather of all coffee artists if there was such a thing.

I received an e-mail from Sabine Peigna, Jean-Marie Peigna’s wife. It’s sad to say that Jean-Marie passed away over a year ago.

Jean-Marie Peigna’s work was well documented in the United States on CNN, FOX 5 News and in Japan on TV ASAHI in the early 80’s. Long before most of us were even drinking coffee let along painting with it. His web site boasts a bibliography few artists have amassed. According to Sabine he may be considered the ancestor of coffee paintings; his whole life revolved around it.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of viewing Jean-Marie’s work please visit his web site at http://www.coffeepainting.com/

“Peigna's material of choice is coffee recycled; roasted, ground, liquefied for its extracts, the green bean is the sole and final element of this palette. Since his first encounter in 1980 in Colombia, coffee has been an epiphany for Peigna who has found in this "tool" the universal and spiritual values enshrined in the fruits of creation. As noble as earth itself, the dark, dense brown color shines with surprising luminosity and brilliance.

Peigna's paintings are charged of energy, and they captivate for the vitality they convey. They embody multi-formity, which is one the most distinguishing aspects of 20th century art. Peigna's work has been viewed internationally in gallery exhibitions.”

I would like to thank Sabine Peigna and offer her my condolences and gratitude.

Ezju

Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju)
Artist/Designer
ezju@nosuchanimal.net
206.214.6338

No Such Animal Studios

PHKAKI MEDIA & DESIGN PHKAI ENTERTAINMENT
ezju@phkaki.com

In preparation - Coffee Artists Interviews!

2006-09-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

In preparation for next years Arfé 2007 International Coffee Painting Exhibition interviews are being set up with the artists who have been invited. Starting this month phone interviews will take place with most of the artist while a few have opted for e-mail interviews to ease language barriers and international phone charges. As soon as all interviews are complete they will be posted here and on No Such Animal Studios Web site one a week for 12 consecutive weeks.

I’m very excited about this project for two main reasons. Getting to know the select few who have had the inspiration to use coffee as a medium and how their culture has influenced their art is very intriguing. For a few years now I have had a fascination with diverse cultures, communication, universal symbols, global information, and how these come together and sculpt the personality of cultures, communities and individuals. This project is a small step into both these interests.

In all fairness to the artists being interviewed I have e-mailed advanced questions to them so those who are going to be interviewed by phone have the same opportunity to review and contemplate the answers as those who are going to respond by e-mail.

The questions e-mailed out are the following:

Warm Up Questions:

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
2. Where were you born, raised and live now?
3. How would you describe your childhood?
4. How would you describe your life now?
5. Tell us about your art training.
6. How would you describe your artistic style? Your artistic philosophy?
7. Which artist inspired you most? Which art movement?
8. Where do you feel an artists place is in society?
9. If money and availability were not an issue, what one painting would be hanging in your home?
10. When painting, do you listen to music or is it quiet? If music what kind/artist?
11. If given the opportunity, who in the world would you want to sit for a portrait by you? What 12. medium and style would you use?
13. Who is you favorite contemporary artist? Why?
14. Who is your favorite historical artist? Why?
15. What is your most remarkable personality quark?
16. What interest or hobbies do you have other than fine art?
17. How do you take your coffee or tea?
18. If a coffee roaster named a blend after you what would it be called? Would it be a light, medium or dark roast?

All Warmed Up Questions:

1. The obvious question: why coffee?
2. Describe your coffee "paint" making process.
3. What is your coffee painting technique?
4. What do you find most unique about coffee as an artistic medium?
5. Have you ever drank or tasted your coffee paint? Describe it!
6. Have you ever had or made others taste your coffee paint? Describe their reaction!
7. How do you think history books will look back on Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?
8. How do you want history to remember you and your contribution to the art world?
9. How do you want history to remember Arfé, coffee art, coffee painting, and coffee artists?
10. What significance does coffee play in your culture? Your life?
11. What cultural influences do you feel most impacted and/or are most reflected in your work?
12. Before I contacted you, how aware of other artists who use coffee as an artistic medium?
13. Do you think the recent proliferation of coffee artists around the world is Zeist Geist?
14. Some people think Arfé or coffee art/painting is just a novelty or quick passing fad. Do you believe this? Where do you see this movement going in the near and distant future?
15. Has commercial advertising, marketing and design had an impact on your art, subject matter and/or decision to use coffee as an artistic medium?
16. How do patrons and art admirers describe your work?
17. How do critics describe your work?
18. How as the media received you and your work?
19. What level of satisfaction and success have you had on a personal, social, spiritual, and commercial level with your art?
20. What is your life dream in regards to your art? Have you fulfilled it? If not how do you plan to reach it?
21. During interviews a local radio personality, Ichabod Caine on KMPS, ends his interviews with the question I leave you with. What is your very first child hood memory?

I hope to start posting the response and more information on the artists interviewed some time in October.

Ezju
No Such Animal Studios
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

Coffee Artists Blog - The Art Of Coffee Painting By Amita - Mira Chudasama

2006-09-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

http://coffeepaintings.wordpress.com

Ah, another Blog dedicated to coffee painting and the artists who use coffee as an artistic medium! I love it! Please check out The Art Of Coffee Painting By Amita - Mira Chudasama . Very talented artists with our without coffee who have a lot to offer the art community and the world in general.

Angel & Andy keep a Blog at http://www.justcoffeeart.com/announcements.html with their exploits around the world and more coffee artist info.

Ezju
No Such Animal Stuidos
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

Beta 1 of No Such Animal Studios 2006

2006-08-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Finally! The Beta 1 site has been launched for the new and improved No Such Animal Studios! The old site has been up since 2004 and looks like it. Almost 3 years of neglect has taken its toll not to mention I was just tired of looking at it!

What does the new Web site featuring Ezju, Coffee Culture Paintings, the rest of his fine art and a much more than before complete design portfolio offer the world? Well if the aforementioned list isn’t enough the easy navigation, clean scanable text, and more art than ever.

Two sections of the site are not in place until Saturday, August 12 but the rest of the site is up and running. There are a few bugs to work out though related to the CSS and text rendering but I should fix that pronto. The two sections not up yet are links off of the Press Room and my design portfolio.

Any thoughts or comments on the new site are appriciated!

In addition to the Coffee Culture – American Lifestyle, Coffeesscapes and Coffee Stains the new version has the Barista Foam Art (En Caustic) Gallery added with room to grow!

Other galleries not related to coffee are watercolors, oils, inks, and en caustics though the latter only has en caustic & coffee paintings in it at the moment . . . but soon . . .

My daughter has a gallery page all to her self and we will upload some new paintings by her in the coming weeks.

If there is anything you needed to know about Edward Patrick Kranz better known as Ezju you can read his bio, artist statements, fine art resume, graphic design resume, or his CV (Curriculum Vitae).

Other information you’ll find on the site is upcoming exhibits as well as a history of past shows. The upcoming exhibits are updated as soon as a new show is scheduled so you’ll always know where to find Ezju and his artwork. See you soon!

The current and future projects page outlines what to expect from Ezju and No Such Animal Studios. The next project is an animation/series based on the characters in Jana Colbey’s fine art paintings.

As soon as the beta for the site is finished I will be adding in a store for your favorite Coffee Culture merchandise like Ezju’s paintings on tumbled Torreon stone coffee coasters and mugs as well as prints and calendars. For now Ezju keeps a store at CafePress.com that you can visit for coffee mugs and calendars!

The Coffee Corporation - Ryan L. Lewis

2006-08-06T23:45:00.000-07:00

Watch out! There is a new artist who paints with coffee on the block and his work is fun and full of caffeinated energy!

I came across this entry in the INeedCoffee.com blog

Again, even with the same medium (coffee) as the rest of the artists featured and mentioned in Coffee Talk, Ryan’s subject matter and style is very different than the others. I will be contacting Ryan in the next few days to invite him to next years Arfé 2007 - The International Coffee Artists Exhibition in Seattle, WA and hopeful interview him for a posting here in Coffee Talk.

You should check out his coffee work at The Coffee Corporation as well as his other works at ObscuraArt.com

“The artist Ryan L. Lewis, a native of Florida now residing in Wilmington North
Carolina has branched out from his usual painting style to create an
interesting
style of paintings & sculpture using raw coffee as a medium.
Most of his
works tend to depict coffee cups interacting in

"human" situations. Also Ryan
continues his work on an upcoming audio CD
release, an audio experience based on
the making of, the drinking of and the
enjoyment of coffee laced with ambient
sounds & field recordings. His
work is available for commission work and his
works are currently for sale.”

Contact Ryan L. Lewis (910) 612-1357 or by E-mail: obscuraproductions@yahoo.com

Ezju at Adobe U Coffee Painting Show Update!

2006-08-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

The new and final ( I hope) dates for Ezju’s Coffee Culture and Barista Latte Art Coffee Painting show at the Seattle Adobe University Art Gallery is September 15th, 2006 through November 17th, 2006.

The artist reception will be held on September 15th from 3pm – 5pm.

I hope to see you there!

Ezju

Coffee On The Wall - Amita and Mira Chudasama - Check this out!

2006-08-06T04:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve mentioned Amita and Mira Chudasama before but this time I have to shout. Check this out! I’ve included several images from their web site but please take a look at what they have going on over in India!

Their subject matter is as diverse as it is beautiful.
Buddha to butterflies.
Tigers, music and woman.
Dogs to dance.
What ever they choose to paint you get a real feel for passion and culture that they live in.
Rich Texture.
Beautiful action lines.
I can almost tast their work.

Coffee On The Wall - coffee paintings exhibition is held by Amita and Mira Chudasama at Road No - 1, Kauveri Hills, Hi Tech City, Hyderabad - AP India.

This is unique & creative coffee art show ever held in India. Art lovers and media appreciated this unique coffee art show.

News & Articles
http://www.artandpainting.net/art.aspx?Id=107

Few TV Show & NEWS Clips
http://www.artandpainting.net/media.aspx?Id=112

Selected Paintings on My Site
http://www.artandpainting.net/coffee_paintings.aspx?Id=2

"Coffee is an interesting medium to create art. Questioning people who view the
work are amazed that the artwork is painted entirely in coffee. We work
entirely in coffee - there are no additives, it's 100% pure coffee. Painting in
coffee is a refreshing break from my work in oils, water colors, and other
mediums."

"Coffee is a fascinating medium to form art. It is quite
successful experiment using Coffee to get the old-look effect in your painting.
It is all about using pure coffee, water and your brush. Coffee painting
produces everlasting shining. The coffee-on-canvas paintings resemble
antique sepia effect. Painting with coffee helps you to get the old-look effect."

Just a Nod For Coffee Filters

2006-07-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Original Posted on Sun, Jul. 16, 2006 on Contra Costa Times (.com)

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Richmond

ART CENTER TO DISPLAY SUMMER EXHIBIT: The Richmond Art Center will
display an annual summer exhibit, "Elementary Art Around the Bay," Friday
through Aug. 4, in the center's Community Gallery.

The exhibit, organized by retired kindergarten teacher Linda Becker,
will feature works by 320 preschool through fifth-grade students in Dover,
Downer, Ellerhorst, King, Rodeo Hills and Valley View schools, in the John Swett
and West Contra Costa school districts.

There will be 565 art pieces such as masks, prints, drawings,
paintings, collages, sculptures and weaving. The works, incorporating such
materials as marbles, foil, coffee filters, beans and pasta,
fabrics and sponges, were created in 26 class projects. The projects include "A
Family is a Rainbow," "Animals of the World," "Mardi Gras Masks," "Faces From
Fifth Grade," "Kindergarten Critters," and "Peter Peter Penguins."

An opening reception will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The center, at 2540 Barrett Ave., is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday.
For more details, call 510-620-6772.

--Dora Scardina

Ezju & Coffee Culture at Adobe U Art Gallery Fall/Winter 2006!

2006-07-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

It will come as little surprise to find Adobe, makers of the finest graphic software tools anywhere, is a proud supporter of the arts. The Seattle, WA campus in Fremont, the self professed center of the universe (set you watch back 5 minutes), sports the Adobe U Art Gallery which hosts 4 artists a year for quarter long exhibits.

What does all this have to do with coffee paintings? Well . . . it’s not set in stone just yet but the scuttle butt around the cooler at Adobe is that Ezju will be the featured fall artist in the Adobe U Art Gallery with his Coffee Culture paintings! His show should be hosted October 2006 through the end of the year. The exact date for the reception will be determined soon.

The show will consist of a combination of the Coffee Culture Consumer Lifestyle series and the en caustic & coffee Barista Foam Art emulations. All in all there should be about 15 works ranging from 12” x 12” up to a 8’ x 8’ en caustic Rosetta!

More details will follow as the event nears.

The Adobe U Art Gallery is located in the south side (Canal dr.) Plaza building at the Seattle, WA corporate campus.

Adobe Systems Incorporated
701 North 34th street (Main building is at 801 North 34th street)
Seattle WA, 98103

An Art With Aroma - Coffee Painting Article on Buzzle.com

2006-07-03T10:28:00.000-07:00

“Next time you would say "Waiter, I need coffee with water, a brush and nice canvas". Here are glimpse on using coffee as painting medium.”

One of the goals of this blog – Coffee Talk is to bring awareness to the growing art of painting with coffee. Another goal is to connect the community of coffee artists. I enjoy seeing articles like the one that appears on buzzle.com which helps further these goals. This article brings attention to several artists around the world who use coffee as a medium. For more detailed information on these artists, process, and works please brows past postings on this blog – Coffee Talk. It is chocked full of information and links for coffee fans!

Read full article - An Art With Aroma

By Jay CPublished: 7/1/2006 on Buzzle.com Intelligent Life on the web

In the upcoming months I will be posting information on the First Annual International Coffee Artists Exhibit to be held in Seattle late spring/early summer of 2007. I already have a growing list of coffee artists interested in the show and I hope to add a few more from around the world by the end of this month. Information will be posted here starting July of 2006 as well as the No Such Animal Studios Web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net, the portfolio site of Ezju.
I’m very excited about the prospect of bringing together so many talented artists who work with such a unique medium to the art world at large.

Ezju Painting Coffee Culture in Hawaii April 2007!

2006-06-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

Guatemala was supposed to be my first look at coffee culture out side the continental United States and it still might be. At the time of this writing no solid dates have been set for the trip to a small family farm in Guatemala but definite dates have been set for a trip to the Hawaiian Islands! April 6th through April 16th 2007. My family will spend 10 sun soaked days on Maui; snorkeling, sunbathing, kids in the sand, tropical drinks, luaus and Hawaiian coffee culture!

If you’re asking what the Hawaiian Islands have to do with coffee culture you probably aren’t familiar with one of the worlds best coffees, Kona.

Hawaii is steep in history and tradition when it comes to coffee. I intend to capture some of the Hawaiian culture and history in drawings that will become paintings in the months that follow the trip. I would like to do some Plein Air paintings while on the island paradise but family time being a major priority will limit the number of works I’ll be able to do on location. Sketches and photographs will suffice for in studio works.

Even though Hawaii isn’t in a different country from the current coffee culture paintings, I feel that because of the differences in Hawaiian and main land America’s cultures it will be an excellent start for my look at coffee culture in other countries.

I am going to contact the owners of Bad Ass Coffee in Maui and some of the local coffee farms for interviews and access to subject matter, more posting on this as things progress. All interviews, drawings and paintings will be posted here and the No Such Animal Studios Web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net in the spring and summer of 2007.

Information on the Guatemala trip will be coming soon. The goal is March 2007 for 1 week. This would put me in Guatemala in the middle of harvest!

Ezju
ezju@nosuchanimal.net

A brief history of coffee in Hawaii:

Reprinted from the Maui Coffee Co. Web site - http://www.mauicoffeeco.com

Don Francisco de Paula Marin recorded in his journal in 1813 that he had planted coffee on Oahu. That planting eventually failed, but in 1825 Chief Boki, Governor of Oahu, brought coffee to Hawaii aboard the British warship H.M.S. Blonde. This ship was returning to Hawaii the bodies of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu, who had died in London from measles during a state visit. Chief Boki, in charge of the funeral party, had acquired coffee plants in Rio de Janeiro during the long voyage. The coffee was planted in Manoa Valley on Oahu, and eventually from this small field trees were introduced to other areas of Oahu as well as to neighbor islands. In 1828, Reverend Samuel Ruggles planted coffee trees from Manoa in the Naole area (now Captain Cook) above Kealakekua Bay on the Kona Coast. The plants thrived in this environment due to the elevation, rich soil, and consistent cloud cover. Acreage increased, and an entire culture rose around the farming of Kona Coffee which was quickly earning a superior reputation far beyond the islands. At that time, however, Hawaii's "export" economy consisted primarily of provisioning whaling and trading ships that visited Hawaii and coffee had a ready market with the mariners. In the 1860's the whaling industry collapsed, destroying the primary market for Hawaiian coffee. In the 1870's sugar became Hawaii's major crop as a result of the growing market on the west coast, and a Reciprocity Treaty between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the United States of America.

Maui was an important stop for vessels laden with coffee from the 1800s all the way into the golden age of steamships in the 1900s. Mala Wharf (right) was one of the chief stops for vessels heading from the docks in old Kailua town to the bustling sea port of Honolulu. More often than not, these vessels were only partly filled with coffee and they would take on pineapple produced by the Baldwin Packers, which ran a packing facility where the Lahaina Cannery mall stands today.

Late in the 19th century interest and investment in coffee revived. Land opened in Kona, and there were efforts to establish coffee plantations. The economics of coffee defeated theses efforts, and the plantations were replaced by small farms operated by former sugar plantation laborers who wanted to farm on their own. (1) Fluctuations of world coffee markets and prices during the 20th century, as well as local environmental and social factors, evolved the industry in to a structure of small privately owned farms. The average farm of the day was less than 5 - acres in size. Through this period, however, much work was done by the Hawaii Agricultural Extension Service to improve coffee, so Kona not only maintained, but added to its reputation of being one of the world's greatest coffees. During the 1930's in particular. Hawaii earned the reputation of being a world leader in improving cultivation methods. With all such improvements, Kona coffee is still carefully grown and hand picked in limited quantities.

Coffee Roasters Paintings November 2006 at Starbucks at the Lodge in Bellevue WA

2006-06-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Ezju and his coffee paintings will be returning to Starbucks at the Lodge in the Bellevue Square Mall this November 2006. This year’s show will feature coffee roasters and the roasting process. The series will of course be painted using coffee as a medium.

The painting style will be much more loose and watercoloresque than previous Coffee Culture series by Ezju. While the Coffee Roaster series is still part of Coffee Culture, Ezju wanted to make a clear visual distinction between the consumer scenes and the commercial compositions.

A sneak preview will be posted on this blog and the No Such Animal Studios Web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net at the end of July 2006. The rest of the series will be premiered at the November 2006 show at Starbucks at the Lodge.

While this is only the second show for Ezju at this venue it may just become an annual show. Feedback from last year’s en caustic and coffee paintings emulating barista foam art was very positive. The art manager, Lauren Farricker, said it was the best received show of the year!

Check back for the sneak peak and updated information on the show. If all goes well last years musical guest Gabe Mintz will perform again!

The Curious Project - This is Antjuan Oden

2006-06-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

In the Thursday, May 11, 2006 post Receiving envelopes reeking of Nescafe was odd . . .Antjuan Oden’s Coffee Paintings I introduced an artist Antjuan Oden whose very unique style was laid down in coffee on 72 or so little scraps of paper. The paintings were very curious and recently Antjuan sent me a link to his aptly named blog The Curious Project.

I would highly recommend this site not just because of Mr. Oden's work with coffee but to experience the work of a true artist. I'll let his work and writings speak for themselves - visit http://curiousproject.blogspot.com/ and see.

Latest Work by Mira & Amita Chudasama

2006-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Check out the new Web site and latest work by Mira Chudasama & Amita Chudasama at Art and Painting

"Since the beginning of 2001, ‘Coffee painting’ has taken place of our leading
art!! We started our journey of Coffee painting with inspiration of Thai &
Chinese art!! Today we are among foremost coffee painting artists in the world."

And they truly are among the formost coffee painters in the world!

http://www.artandpainting.net/

For the latest information on Coffee Art and Coffee Painting visit No Such Animal Studios! New En Caustic & Coffee paintings coming July 4th as well as a fresh new look for the web site!

Ezju

Straight From Death Row: Coffee Painting

2006-05-19T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hey look it’s another article with prison inmates using coffee as a creative medium! I wonder if I should worry about my future. Am I a candidate for caffeinated incarcerated artistic expression syndrome?

Seriously though - this article is more about 3 brothers who are maintaining their innocents and raising money for their defense fun. Below is the excerpt pertaining to coffee painting. I would encourage you to read the full article and follow some of the links therein. It’s an interesting crime mystery drama!

Echols is not allowed any art supplies in prison, so his work is often created with whatever materials he can scrounge, including coffee and old magazines.
This one-night-only event includes music, speaking, and poetry readings by good ol’ Henry Rollins, veteran rocker Jonathan Richman and this SFist's personal favorite, sexy mop-headed former Supervisor Matt Gonzalez.

Enjoy, who knows maybe you’ll be the one to help set these three free. What the heck, Henry Rollins did his part in reading poetry at the one-night-only event.

There is still a lot of ground to cover in legitimizing the use of edibles in art

2006-05-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

A colleague of mine, Leslie Riches, recently curated a show at the Kirkland Arts Center with food not only as the subject matter but also the medium. The show, Menu: Edible Elements of Art, is running from May 12th through June 3rd, 2006. About 2 years ago she curated another show, You Wear What You Eat: The Sociology, Politics, And Joy of Food, with a similar theme. In addition to curating food themed shows she uses food in her own artwork as well.

Another interesting show Eat Art: Joseph Beuys, Dieter Roth, Sonja Alhäuser at the Busch-Reisinger Museum (October 5th – December 16th, 2001) used food as a medium to address concerns of social change, satire and pleasure. In this show the “plexiglass” covers were edible and eaten during the course of the show! I recommend the Art in Progress link at the bottom of the page featuring Sonja Alhäuser edible art.

In a recent e-mail Leslie told me that people have suggested to her that she stop using food in her art and curating. How absurd! I wonder what those people think art is. Both Menu and Eat Art are based on our cultures relationship with our food; good and bad.

Leslie wrote “I think there is still so much to say with it and so much to do toward legitimizing and unifying the use of edibles in art.” I couldn’t agree with her more. As early as the Dadaists in the 1920’s edible materials have been used as a powerful metaphor and equalizer commenting on consumption, politics or just for making art for arts sake.

In my own art I use coffee as a medium and device to comment on cultural issues. Response to my work has been very positive. In March of 2007 I plan to paint on a small farm in Guatemala with their coffee. In the next year I plan to curate a show featuring artwork derived from coffee. If all goes as planned there will be artist from around the world participating. I’ll keep you posted on that one!

I hope Leslie continues her art and curating using food. There is still a lot of ground to cover in legitimizing the use of edibles in art. This is one of the reasons Menu was so important to me. Those who get it really appreciate it. Those who don’t can buy Shopping Mall prints and be content.

For more information on Ezju and No Such Animal Studios please visit his Web site at http://www.nosuchanimal.net/

What Came From the Artists Was Very High Concept

2006-05-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Menu: edible elements of art
Kirkland Arts Center
May 12th through June 3rd.

Ah, opening night receptions! Got’a love’em! This show was curated by Leslie Riches and was put together masterfully! It’s rare that I’ll attend a show that I love just about every thing about but this one did it. It starts out with a very simple premise; food as art. What came from the artists was very high concept.

I found that the flow of the gallery worked very well with the sets of work on display. As posted earlier, I was to display a eight foot by eight foot en caustic coffee painting of a barista’s rosetta foam art. I understand fully why the portraits from the coffee culture series were opted for by the facilities director, Jason. I can’t imagine that painting in with the rest of this work. Excellent job!

Most of the artists were present for the opening and all were very gracious and pleasant to talk with. I would like to thank each one for their insight and approachability.

One of the goals of this show and the Kirkland Arts Center was to show contemporary art in an area that historically hasn’t embraced it. This was approached with the idea of using food as the theme so everyone could connect with the concept.

Because of the subject matter and hunger in the Northwest despite an over-abundance of food this Opening Reception was also a food drive to benefit Hopelink’s Kirkland Service Center, and all visitors were encouraged to bring non-perishable food items.

Here are some highlights to the show:

Carmen Valdes (Seattle, WA) put together one of the most compelling installations ever utilizing rice. Two larger than life, larger than me, chop sticks were intricately adorned with thousands upon thousands of grains of rice. The patterns she obtained with the naturally colored, hand sorted, rice is as lavish as treasured tapestries. A must see. Very smart. A textural statement on the worlds dependency on rice. Very rich visually.

Theresa Lovering-Brown (Davis, CA) created beautifully encased garlic and chili peppers wrapped with sterling silver and steel. Her work presented here revolves around immigrant workers she sees everyday toiling away. Theresa’s vision, attention to detail and skill combine to make very desirable wearable art.

Teresa was kind enough to pose for a photo of what she was wearing to the show. These pieces are wonderful to view on a pedestal and even more stunning on such a radiant woman.

Patty Cokus (Seattle, WA) had one of my favorite concepts. This one took a second round to get the full effect for me and a second “wow.”

The first time viewing her capillary tubes and reading the description I got the idea that food is carried in our blood stream and it’s what makes our body what it is. Patty had taken very small bits of food and some how, meticulously placed it inside the blood capillary tubes. Of these she made unique looking sculptures or jewelry. This was a wonderful idea, very worthy of being in this show.

The second time around I noticed the individual sculptures not only had food in them but each one was a different type of diet. The furthest to the left was a very health diet and the furthest to the right was packed full of Dick’s burgers and greasy fries! To go even further the health diet sculpture had a resemblance to a healthy hourglass figure while the further to the right you go the more bulbous and unflattering the sculptures became. The second wow.

Dee Fontans (Calgary, Alberta) is a performance artist and contributed some wonderful images of clothing made of food as well as many small tiles (pins?) made of Japanese seaweed. Some of the jewelry she had on display consisted of tubes with different types of food in them. A couple of her outfits were on display as well.

Edward Patrick Kranz – Ezju (Seattle, WA) displayed 6 of his coffee culture series. These images are scenes of coffee culture here in Seattle painted with coffee as the medium. This on going series is an attempt to take a look at different cultures of the world through one of the most influential commodities around. The coffee bean. The next step in this series is a trip to Guatemala and Costa Rica to paint the fair trade farmers and how their culture is affected by coffee beans. There should be a telling contrast in the two sets of paintings.

Tom Müller (Los Angeles, CA) had two excellent works in progress for us to witness. One has been decaying since 2003 and the other was a more recent (set up yesterday) display of oranges under bricks on wooden blocks. This piece will change throughout the course of the month long show. Theoretically each time you visit the piece will be different. Last night there was juice from one of the oranges that exploded under the weight of the bricks! What fun!

Seriously Tom’s work shows a wonderful juxtaposition of organic and inanimate objects and the beauty of change. Again, wonderfully thought out work.

Toi Sennhauser (Seattle, WA) had one of the more interactive pieces at Menu. A cleverly crafted vender cart peddling wish cream puffs! A patron could purchase an unfilled cream puff for $1. Using a funnel hose with a cream puff filler attachment the patron then plugged the filler end into the cream puff and whispered a secret into the funnel. Once the secret was safely inside the pastry real cream was then pushed in to fill the void and hole. The patron could then eat their wish or serve it someone else to try.

When I attempted this I found it hard to come up with a secret. After a few moments I did and filled my cream puff! Leaving my secret cream puff for someone else to consume a friend of mine and I pondered the consequences of telling my secret to her. Would something happen to the cream puff? Was it safe? Should we call Homeland Security?

On a side note, Leslie Riches smashed her secret cream puff on the wall! If only walls really did have ears! What an ear full that one would have got!

Another concept from Toi was a shelf with three candy jars. The candies were repetitive of who she thought her Mother, Father and Husband were in context of color, flavor, smell and texture in the mouth. I tried a piece of her husband first and found him to be rather rich tasting as in a toffee but after several minutes a powerful but not overwhelming hot spice kicked in. All in all she has a good man.

Toi’s mother was a lighter colored, salty taste of a lady that gave way to a very sweat core. This was in contrast to her father that had an amber color and tasted just that. Tasty but not too sweet, not too spicy or salty. Just good. There were some flakes of flavor that would spark out momentarily and then resume the amber flavor. Mellow Yellow. This was a very cool multi-sensational reorientation of her loved ones. I enjoyed her family.

Josephine Balakrishnan (Berkeley, CA)teased our senses with the power of chocolate! Three fun pieces made of chocolate, edible rice paper and edible ink captured our eyes with whimsical imagery and torture our noses and taste buds with the desire to consume her delicious work.

There was joking about pitching in and purchasing one of the bars to eat it. Just to put some of us out of our misery. I’m not so sure it was all humor though. I’ll have to back and see if all three made it through the night!

All in all I had a wonderful time. Made some new friends. Talked to some old friends. Even learned a thing or two. I’m looking for a book now. The History of the World in Just 6 Cups. Apparently it explains history through a few beverages and how the world we know today was shaped by them. I’ll let you know if I find it, read it and what I think.

If you haven’t made it to Menu: edible elements of art I would highly recommend it!

Menu is funded in part with grants from 4Culture, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Premier Properties, Artsfund and individuals.

Leslie Riches has been a member of the Seattle Metals Guild since 1996. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Washington and studied metal work at Lynne Henry Studios. Past exhibits include the Larson Gallery in Yakima, BKB and Company, and the Commencement Gallery in Tacoma. Her work was in the 2004 Tacoma Art Museum’s Northwest Biennial.

Receiving envelopes reeking of Nescafe was odd . . .Antjuan Oden’s Coffee Paintings

2006-05-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

I had heard stories about someone very much like Antjuan Oden though from the bio I read on Garde Rail Gallery is the person I’m thinking about or not. Reg’s web site I’m not sure if thisardless, his coffee painting is very intriguing. I’ve included some quotes from the Garde Rail Gallery’s site and images of Antjuan Oden’s work. For more information on this curiosity please vist Garde Rail Gallery’s site for full text and more paintings. I’ll look into whether or not this is the same person I have heard about or not before I write any more on the matter.

Antjuan Oden

He paints on found objects, using paper and wood, large pieces and small. Employing mainly acrylics, he will also incorporate ink and chalk into his paintings, coating everything with a polyurethane finish for protection and shine. Symbols are found in his work, and Antjuan will often write on his art. He is constantly painting or writing (he has a couple of plays in the works and writes poetry), and is always experimenting with media and ideas. "I have to express myself, it's constant, and it's always coming out of me. My work has really changed since moving to the Northwest, it's real exciting."

Using bits of rolled up tissue paper as brushes, Antjuan painted these pieces with coffee as his paint. Scraps of paper served as Antjuan's canvas. He completed nearly 75 pieces and mailed them to us.

Receiving envelopes reeking of Nescafe was odd, but opening them to discover what was inside was fascinating. The depth of these pieces is astounding; the complexity, the darkness, the sense of humor, the reoccurring characters, all contribute to an amazing body of work. When we later spoke with Antjuan and the conditions under which these pieces were completed was revealed, it only added to our amazement. It is this body of work that helps to exemplify the commitment to create that resides within Antjuan.

Garde Rail Gallery specializing in self-taught, folk & outsider art

GALLERY ADDRESS
110 Third Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104

TELEPHONE
206.621.1055

EMAIL: gallery@garde-rail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.garde-rail.com

The Best Made Plans of Mice and Baristas!

2006-05-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

I know I said I wasn’t going to post an image of the finished painting before the show but as it turns out (read below) Rosetta a la Helen Sage will not be in the MENU: Edible Elements of Art show.

Here is the finished piece . . .

For some perspective on the size of this thing, it’s leaning against my van!

Final info about the show before the show . . .

Ezju will be participating in his first invitational! MENU: Edible Elements of Art at the Kirkland Arts Center. The show will run from May 12th through June 3rd, 2006. The Opening reception will be heldarts center on May 11th at 6:00pm – 9:00pm. I hope to see you all there!

Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men . . . due to a miscommunication . . . between the curator and me . . . the director and the curator . . . peanut butter and marshmallow fluff . . . there has been a change in plans.

The painting “Rosetta a la Helen Sage” will not be in the show MENU: Edible Elements of Art. Instead there will be 6 of the Coffee Culture paintings that I am best known for at the moment.

You should still come to the show and check out my work and that of all the other talented artists who will be there!

If you are interested in viewing: “Rosetta a la Helen Sage” I plan to be open for the June 1st Downtown Seattle First Thursday Art Walk.

The studio address is:

No Such Animal Studios
1020 First Ave. South # 410
Seattle, WA. 98134

206.214.6338
ezju@nosuchanimal.net
http://www.nosuchanimal.net

“What can we learn from the use of edible elements in art? What can the artist show us about these volatile issues: about immediacy, progression, and beauty?”

Artists who are participating:

Josephine Balakrishnan--prints/paper
Patty Cokus--jewelry
Dee Fontans--edible wearables
Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju)--painting
Theresa Lovering-Brown--jewelry
Tom Muller--ceramics
Toi Sennhauser--installation/performance
Carmen Z. Valdes--sculpture

Food is an explosive subject. Our society has such a food surfeit that eating choices have come to involve politics, morals, and popular trends over simply what is available. Social and economic factors have resulted in a population of overweight poor - junk food being cheaper and more readily available in urban centers than nutritious foods. Religious factors influence food choices and preparation. Even what is accepted as a food item differs from culture to culture.

There are many parts of the world where food destitution makes the use of edibles in artworks impossible, if not unthinkable.
At the same time, food is beautiful, colorful - pleasant to the eye and sensual to experience.

Prison, A Wife’s Devotion, Redemption and Art with Coffee; what more could you ask for?

2006-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

I ran across and article in the Tallahassee Democrat (Tallahassee.com) written by Desiree Pulley regarding Issac and Betty Williams need for donations to show art from an unlikely source, behind bars. This article originally caught my attention because of a quote that has a creative solution to an artistic problem.

These artists get creative. “One guy was drawing and he ran out of brown," Betty said, "so he used coffee grounds."

My interest continued because of the true message of the article. Issac and Betty need help to display art created by inmates Issac got to know while he was one of them. Yes, he was in prison, repaid his debt to society, and has now started Love N. FL. Inc, an organization to minister to prison inmates. Part of their plan is to unveil artwork created by inmates.

This is a truly remarkable story of love and devotion. Betty waited 8 Years for her husband; they have adopted a child and are giving back to society. Issac attributes all of his recent good fortune to his wife of 17 years. Issac believes in second chances and wants to share this with others. The immediate need is to frame the artwork ($100 each) so they are looking for donations.

How to Help
Go to any Tallahassee SunTrust location, mention the story of Issac and Betty Williams, and you'll be allowed to make a deposit to help pay for frames for the display of prison art.
For more information, call Alison Iglehart, (850) 668-0993.

If you have a moment to read the full article it can be found here >>

Latté Art Imitates Latté Art

2006-05-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well it’s just on day before I have to deliver the 8’ x 8’ en caustic coffee painting, “Rosetta a la Helen Sage” to the Kirkland Arts Center for MENU: Edible Elements of Art. Talk about cutting it close. I’ll finish the painting tonight and frame it. Too close.

MENU: Edible Elements of Art will have its opening reception on May 11^th, 2006 from 6pm ‘till 9pm at the Kirkland Arts Center. Please visit their site for more information on the show and the artists who will be participating in this invitational that will run from May 12^th through June 3^rd, 2006. Sadly there is very little information on the web site about the show which is curated by Leslie M. Riches.

To see how the painting started please see –
http://uncommon-grounds.blogspot.com/2006/04/rosetta-la-helen-sage.html

and
http://uncommon-grounds.blogspot.com/2006/04/menu-edible-elements-of-art-piece-near.html

Continuing from where those entries left off . . .

The next layer of coffee has been added defining the shape of the Rosetta and “cup” area.

A layer of wax (microcrystalline) is applied and fused with a heat gun.

More coffee and subsequently more wax are applied.

Now the cream rises to the top. I use thick applications of wax to build up the white that will become the milk.

Using the translucent quality of the wax to allow the coffee under painting to show through helps build depth and texture.

Wanting this piece to have a rich texture akin to the flavor of coffee I have applied very thick applications of coffee so when the wax is fused around it the surface will have a stunning physical texture to compliment the swirl of coffee and pigment.

That’s all for now. The next entry about this painting will show it finished and on the wall at the Kirkland Arts Center on opening night! See you there! Awe, come on. How often do you get to see the mother of all Rosettas?

For more information on Ezju, his work and No Such Animal Studios please feel free to visit his web site at http://www.nosuchanimal.net. Original paintings and prints are available!

You can also read his corporate blog at SharpLogic Software where he works as their art director. http://www.sharplogic.com/blogs/ezju.

Ellen Taylor’s Children in Detention

2006-04-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

In an article by Chee Chee Leung, April 27, 2006 for The Age (theage.com.au) on The annual Top Arts exhibition of VCE student work Ellen Taylor’s Children in Detention was mentioned.

Photo: Nicole Emanuel

Ellen Taylor, who studied at Wonthaggi Secondary College, used coffee and calico to create her work Children in Detention, a comment on the "inhumane" effects of mandatory detention on children. She says the dolls in the piece represent children in detention, cramped on a wall and "cowering in fear".

National Gallery of Victoria director Gerard Vaughan said: "It is always refreshing to see such innovative, thought-provoking and creative works."

The exhibition is part of the VCE Season of Excellence, which features the best student work of 2005 in technology, design, multimedia, cinema, and visual and performing arts. Top Arts runs until July 16.

Please visit for full article.

Espresso Vivace History of Espresso Mural by Karen Eland

2006-04-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting coffee artist Karen Eland who was in Seattle installing a mural under the bar at the new Espresso Vivace at 227 Yale Ave. N. (Downtown Seattle in Alley 24 across from REI).

I haven’t had a chance to visit the new 2000 sq. ft. espresso bar to view her all espresso pigment painting of the history of espresso but I did run across this image on the Espresso Vivace Web site.

After viewing the image here I definitely want to make the time to go down and see her mural in person and sample some of their fine roast to boot!

It will be interesting to see how this pieces weathers over the years considering it’s proximity to the ground. I believe there is a Plexiglas covering which should help it survive.

As soon as I get down there I’ll post more images of her Mural at Espresso Vivace here.

To view other paintings in coffee by Karen Eland please visit her Web site www.coffee-art.com

Another cool installation at this café included a mosaic tile rendering of a caffe latte rosetta. Very beautiful. I can’t wait to visit this café because of the works described here and the fact that they plan another installation by Italian master Kurt Wenner that will be posted on their web site after the unveiling on April 18^th. It is to be entitled "Vivi Vivace I Vizu e le Virtu" (Live intensely your vices and virtures).

Hey! They have free wireless too! Not to mention featuring a glassed-in meeting room that seats 15 and can be reserved for meetings at no charge. How can you beat that?

Menu: Edible Elements of Art Piece Near Completion

2006-04-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

The en caustic coffee Rosetta, “Rosetta A La Helen Sage,” is over half way done now! I should be able to finish it (or at least come close) this upcoming weekend (April 15- 16) baring any natural disasters!

This update shot has the first layer of coffee painted on the Rosetta defining the general shape and general tonal values. I am using the birch panel as a mid-tone. Since this shot I have added another layer of wax getting ready for the final layer of coffee. Once the final layer of coffee is sealed I will bring out some highlights and edge the cup with additional layers of un-pigmented wax.

Just a reminder that the opening night for Menu: Edible Elements of Art is May 11th, 2006 at the Kirkland Arts Center from 6pm 'till 9! I hope to see you there!

Rosetta A La Helen Sage

2006-04-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

I’ve received some e-mails from folks wanting a sneak peak at the 8’ x 8’ en caustic coffee painting I’m working on for the Kirkland Arts Center upcoming show Edible Elements of Art. I’ve decided to show some of the different stages of the project up to about a week ago.

The painting has been named! “Rosetta A La Helen Sage” for one of the most wonderful woman walking the earth today. Helen is my wife’s grandmother and a great grandmother to more children than I can count on my two hands! At her age, past 80, I hope I have half the energy, passion, love and life that she has. Helen has been an inspiration to me for years now and this painting is in honor of her life.

On a side note, Helen has donated the coffee that made up the more then 40 pots that it took to make the coffee paint used in this painting! Thank you Helen!

With “Rosetta A La Helen Sage” I am using microcrystalline rather than the usual bee’s wax in my other en caustics. The reason for this is the flexibility microcrystalline offers at such a large size and it’s natural tack limiting the amount of fusion I will need between layers. I do miss the smell of bee’s wax but I’ll get back to that soon.

The medium is made up of the microcrystalline and dammar crystals (hardening agent). Pigment is added to the medium for the blue I will use in the outer corners of the painting. Coffee paint will be applied between layers of wax medium.

This is me working over my hot plate making up the wax medium. One of the two 8’ x 4’ birch panels is in the background.

The first layer of wax is to seal the birch and protect it from the acids in the coffee.

After using a 4’ length of string to make up the circle I put down the first layer of coffee paint to define the edges of the coffee cup as if you were looking down on the cup. Over this I will paint blue wax and fuse together with a heat gun.

To lay out the Rosetta pattern I used roasted and un-roasted coffee beans to “draw” the shapes without marking the painting. This helped me figure out proportions and layout.

I want the brush stokes to be visible when I paint the Rosetta. I’m using a fan brush to paint in the coffee to ensure this effect. The dark areas are painted in first.

The natural grain of the birch panels will add to the texture of the painting. This weekend I will be near compleation of the painting. This is where I leave off until we are closer to the show date. ‘till then . . .enjoy.

Menu: Edible Elements of Art - Updated Info!

2006-03-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

The show is now called "Menu: Edible Elements of Art"

The 2006 artist list is:

Josephine Balakrishnan--prints/paper
Patty Cokus--jewelry
Dee Fontans--edible wearables
Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju)--painting
Theresa Lovering-Brown--jewelry
Tom Muller--ceramics
Toi Sennhauser--installation/performance

Carmen Z. Valdes--sculpture

The show still takes place at the Kirkland Arts Center from May 12th through June 3rd, 2006. Opening Reception is Thursday, May 11, 6:00pm - 9:00pm. I hope to see you there!

Thank you for the update Leslie!

8' x 8' En Caustic and Coffee Representation of the Barista Foam Art

2006-03-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

For the Kirkland Arts Center’s Menu: Invitational Edible Elements of Art I was inspired to create an eight foot by eight foot en caustic and coffee representation of the barista foam art also known as latte art. This painting is to be in two pieces 4’ x 8’ each. After working construction for over a decade you would think I’d have a strong grasp on just how large that is.

It wasn’t until I had purchased the birch panels and materials to build the support for the encaustics and got them into the studio that it sunk in just how big this piece was going to be. I would like to take a moment to point out that most of my work averages about eighteen by twenty four inches.

The supports are now built and primed with initial wax layer. Coffee has been applied as well as some blue wax to start the painting off. Now that it is finally underway and I can see the image starting to take shape I’m more excited than ever and the size has moved from being intimidating to impressively saturating visually.

I’ve done some work emulating barista foam art with coffee and wax on a much smaller scale but to have it so much more larger than life has added something I had not anticipated to the subject matter. It is definitely definitive of the American culture that coffee art, latte art, coffee culture and ridiculously large beverages have grown out of.

I hope you are able to make the opening reception on May 11^th, 2006 at the Kirkland Arts Center at 6pm – 9pm. The show will run from May 12th - June 3rd, 2006.

My intention was to post pictures of the different stages of this painting from the raw materials to finished work but unfortunately the early pictures have been lost. I’ll post updated ones here as they are available.

What the heck is coffee paste?

2006-03-24T12:49:00.000-08:00

On occasion I have considered different recopies for my coffee paint. When I first started out painting with coffee I knew it would stain permanently from experiences just before marketing meetings. I tried using acrylic mediums and linseed oil. What I eventually concluded is that coffee makes a fine medium on its own not so different than watercolor.

I take large amounts of coffee 10 – 20 pots at a time and condense it down until the oils and suspension reach a viscosity that I like to work with. The final result is quite close to very used motor oil. This process takes a solid 8 hours to boil down the coffee to a quick past like paint. The reason I take this long is I don’t want the coffee to caramelize. Heating it too fast will do that especially near the end of the process.

In the near future I plan to try Turkish coffee. If I understand it well enough, its ground so fine you just mix the powder into your hot water and drink it. The powder dissolves. I tried grinding my own coffee this fine with a mortar and pestle but couldn’t get it fine enough. I just need to find someone with a Turkish grinder or buy it that fine. This experiment is for another day.

What prompted this entry was the mention of coffee past in a recent entry, 3/15/2006 about Art Knowledge News Web site article about Amita & Mira Chudasama. In the article it quotes Chudasama “During final stage of an odyssey of coffee painting, fat coffee paste is to be used in the areas to be marked out with dark tone.” It was the fat coffee paste that caught my attention. What the heck is coffee past?

Google to the rescue! I find that it is a culinary paste that can be purchased sweet or unsweetened or even with hazelnut added.

“This paste offers a rich coffee flavor and deep coffee color. It blends homogeneously with all types of dessert creams and can be used as a liquid flavoring. Add to buttercreams, whipped cream, ganaches, batters, sauces, shakes, parfaits, ice creams, praline fillings and pastry cream.”

Quote taken from Albert Uster Imports where you can buy coffee paste at $31.51 for 2.1 lbs / 0.9 kg.

“Very fine coffee paste from Agrimontana. Strong flavor of coffee beans. A very fine coffee paste with none of the chemical flavors of coffee extracts. A great product for coffee ice cream with a longing aroma. Used as a filler for chocolates truffles and in cake recipes.”

Ingredients: coffee, sugar, hazelnuts.

Quote taken from L’Epicerie where you can get an 8 oz container for $11.75. I don’t know if I’d use this one with the sugar and hazelnuts but maybe . . . I’ve recently discovered someone who uses chocolate to paint with so why not hazelnuts in my coffee paint? That will be another entry . . .

Who will be participating in Menu: Invitational Edible Elements of Art?

2006-03-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

What is art? I’ve had people ask me that question humorously and with a very serious tone. I’ve had folks say that West Coast artists don’t have a clue; East Coast is where the art scene is. I’ve had others tell me Europe is still the only place where real art is made. I live on the West Coast. The Pacific North West to be exact. What does that mean? Nothing, just where I live. There is good art and bad are here too. Just like Europe and the East Coast.

Coming up in May is an invitational that draws together artists from both coasts and the world. You may not know what art is. You may not know what good art vs. bad art is. You may be an art connoisseur extraordinaire! Regardless of whom you are or what you know about art; let me tell you that this show will be fun! You may learn a bit about art and our culture too!

I’ve mentioned this show in a previous entry in more detail. I just wanted to post some Web site of the very talented artists who will be participating in this invitational. Enjoy browsing and I hope to see you at the show!

Menu: Invitational Edible Elements of Art

Where: Kirkland Arts Center in Kirkland Washington

When: May 11th 2006

Who:

Josephine Balakrishnan – prints/paper
http://www.josephinebalakrishnan.com

Patty Cokus – jewelry
http://www.pattycokus.com

Jason Huff – ceramics
http://www.redthred.com

Dee Fontans – edible wearables
http://www.deefontans.com

Edward Patrick Kranz (Ezju) – coffee painting
http://www.nosuchanimal.net

Theresa Lovering-Brown – jewelry
http://omiya.com

Tom Muller – ceramics
http://www.hellomuller.com

Leslie M. Riches – jewelry
http://www.seattlemetalsguild.org/members/leslieriches/leslieriches.html

Carmen Z. Valdes – sculpture
http://www.seattlemetalsguild.org/members/carmenvaldes/carmenvaldes.html

Coffee Painting ? ... A New Art Medium

2006-03-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

Article originally published on Art Knowledge News Web site

Skillful use of the endless resources offered by coffee brown offers plethora of possibilities for a painting. Few minor precautions need to be ascertained to utilize the potential of coffee painting. The ground rule advocates shunning the practice of filling entire coverage with light tone. Similarly no nearest part of outline should be a light tone. Rather leaving it as original white background offers magical solution. The uncolored white portion will emphasize the object with the contrast effect. Once the foundation work of highlighting objects with the light tone completes, middle tone comes across as a handy tool. Process of repeatedly applying the brush with added coffee color will help the middle portion emerge bit darker to differentiate it from light tone on outlines. During final stage of an odyssey of coffee painting, fat coffee paste is to be used in the areas to be marked out with dark tone. Blend water with coffee in different extent to create variety of shades of brown. This will enhance layer development in the painting.

Opposite to the conventional painting style, coffee-painting requests not to place a canvas in standing position to avoid the spreading of shades, due to tendency of water flowing downward, in undesired areas. A painting made with coffee will hold an extra glaze once it gets dried, which is natural. So do not raise an eyebrow about it.

No doubts, impression & aroma of coffee painting holds breathe of art, artist and art lovers on single canvas.

Artist & Author
Amita & Mira Chudasama www.artandpainting.net

Art Knowledge News posts new articles about exhibits and recent art news daily. They are a non-profit, and free to their 147,800 subscribers worldwide.

I would like to thank Lloyd S. Rubin, Editor, for permission to re-post this article.

Thank you.

MENU: Invitational Edible Elements of Art

2006-03-15T12:36:00.000-08:00

Ezju has been asked to participate in the MENU: Invitational Edible Elements of Art at the Kirkland Arts Center in May of 2006! The MENU: Invitational opens May 11th, 2006.

What: Food is an explosive subject. Our society has such a food surfeit that eating choices have come to involve politics, morals, and popular trends over simply what is available. social and economic factors have resulted in a population of overweight poor - junk food being cheaper and more readily available in urban centers than nutritious foods. Religious factors influence food choices and preparation. Even what is accepted as a food item differs from culture to culture.

There are many parts of the world where food destitution makes the use of edibles in artworks impossible, if not unthinkable.

At the same time, food is beautiful, colorful - pleasant to the eye and sensual to experience.

Why: What can we learn from the use of edible elements in art? What can the artist show us about these volatile issues: about immediacy, progression, and beauty?

Where: Kirkland Arts Center in Kirkland Washington

When: May 11th 2006

Who: Josephine Balakrishnan - prints/paper
Patty Cokus - jewelry
Jason Huff - ceramics
Dee Fontans - edible wearables
Edward Patrick kranz (Ezju) - coffee painting
Theresa Lovering-Brown - jewelry
Tom Muller - ceramics Leslie
M. Riches - Jewelry
Carmen Z. Valdes – sculpture

Menu: Invitational Edible Elements of Art curated by Leslie M. Riches and runs from May 12^th through June 3^rd, 2006.

Opening reception is Thursday, May 11, 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Ezju will be displaying an 8' x 8' En Caustic coffee painting on birch; emulating the barista foam art known as latte art.

En Caustic is an ancient wax medium that pre-dates most other known art mediums including oils. This painting is built up of several layers of bee's wax, pigments and coffee to give a beautifully transparent effect with stunning depth and interplay between the elements.

Help Contact Peigna!

2006-03-10T16:50:00.000-08:00

Mr. Peigna’s web site is back up and running but alas his e-mail is broken. I went to invite Peigna to the International Multi-Coffee-Artist shows in Erie, PA (2006) and Seattle, WA (2007) but received fatal delivery errors from his speigna@yahoo.com account.

If anyone knows of an alternative e-mail account for him please let me know. This mans work over the past 2 decades is very powerful and visually stunning. I don’t want to image this show without work representing him.

Pretty Face of Serendipity!

2006-03-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

After contacting the first 4 of the 6 coffee artists that I’m aware of serendipity showed her pretty face! Karen Eland of 100% Coffee Art happened to be coming to Seattle to install a mural at a new Espresso Vivace! As soon as the café opens up I’ll take a trip down to see it. Most likely it will be here in the blog very soon.

I had the pleasure of Karen’s company on March 6^th. She came to my studio in downtown Seattle for a short spell to see some of my work, discuss the pending multi-coffee artist shows in Erie and Seattle, and the work of other coffee artists.

It occurred to me during our conversation that the other coffee artist may not be aware of the others. I had found Karen, Angel and Andy, Mira and a few others with a Google search. This was prompted by a frequent question. “This is highly original. Is there anyone else painting with coffee?” I didn’t know the answer to this question so I Google.

Karen was aware of Angel and Andy while more recently me because I contacted her about the shows. The others she was not familiar with. Artists like Peigna who have been using coffee as an artistic medium since 1980 and Saul Bolanz who uses coffee extracts to make a photographic emulsion were news to her. Not surprising, Peigna site was down for quite a while and doesn’t come up near the top of the searches either. If you haven’t seen his work before please take a minute to view it. Very unique and full of energy.

Karen is a very down to earth and unassuming person. Her personality is definitely reflected in her work. She is extremely talented but has a light hearted approach to her work. This was clear from our conversation. It will be a pleasure to participate in a show with her. I think Seattlites will appreciate her subtle humor and thoughtful brush work.

After talking to Karen about the very diverse and distinct styles that all the different coffee artists are able to achieve with this uncommon medium I became more determined to help promote this medium. I’m more than excited about the prospect of an international multi-coffee artist show in Seattle bringing together the talents of many fine artists.

The First International Multi-Coffee Artist Show?!

2006-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

The time has come! I’ve started contact other coffee artists mentioned in this blog to see about setting up a couple multi-coffee artist shows. The first of which is being organized by Deborah Vahanian of Glass Growers Gallery in Erie, PA (my home town). The second show would be Seattle in the spring or summer of 2007.

Contacted so far are Karen Eland of coffee-art.com, Sabah Al-Dhaher of Seattle and aldhaher.net, Angel Sarkela-Saur& Andy Saur of Duluth, MN and justcoffeeart.com, and Amita – Mira Chudasama of India (I believe) and artandpainting.net. So far all have responded except for the Saurs. Karen and Mira have expressed interest in the shows and Sabah’s current sculpture commitments will unfortunately keep him from participating for now.

The first show in Erie, PA, organized by Deborah Vahanian would be August 4^th through September 12^th 2006 at the Moonsense Café. I’m told it is a great place for art, performance and food (they could use a new web site though). More information on this show will be posted here and on nosuchanimal.net, my web site.

The second show in Seattle, WA, organized by me (Ezju), will take place in late spring or early summer of 2007. Venue will be decided once I’ve a more solid idea of how many artists will be involved and how many pieces will be on display. The dates will solidify as time grows closer too. Again more information on this show will be posted here and on nosuchanimal.net.

So far we have three coffee artist lined up, that’s a good start! More coffee artist will be contacted as I find their information and time.

Gautcher's Collages Including Coffee Grounds

2006-01-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

A passing note about an artist who may not use coffee as her main medium but dabbles a bit apparently:

"This eye for design has been accelerated in Gautcher's collages, a new medium for her. In them, She combines acryic paints with printing, layers of tissue paper and other materials, including coffee grounds, corrugated paper, sketches, string, handmade paper, linocut prints, and chunks of paint or yarn."

Full Article
By Luanne Austin

Coffee Culture: Marketing

2006-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

I’m adding a new sub-series to the Coffee Culture series. So far most of the paintings have centered on people and the life style that coffee culture has impacted such as baristas, café performers, patrons and soon roasters. Another aspect of coffee culture I would like to examine is marketing. Let’s face it, Starbucks as some of the best marketing in the world considering their coffee isn’t the best but they are an easy example. The company and marketing that sparked my interest in starting this sub-series is Kicking Horse Coffee located in Invermere, BC.

A friend of mine brought back a pound of Kick Ass, Kicking Horse’s deep dark flavored coffee, perfect to start your day. It’s a certified organic shade grown coffee that is farmer friendly and has a legend to promote the brand.

The Legend:

"In the summer of 1858 James Hector set out to discover the Kicking Horse Valley.
His expedition took him through some of the most beautiful and rugged country in
the West. During a river crossing, James Hector was kicked by one of the pack
horses. In fact, he was kicked so hard that the others in the expedition mistook
him for dead. As they began to bring out the shovels to bury poor old James,
they noticed his eye twitch! The legend says that it was a stiff cup of Kick Ass
Coffee that brought him back to life!"

There has to be a coffee painting in there someplace! I just know it. Later this year you'll see it painted in Kick Ass Coffee!

In this sub-series I will be taking a look at this company, Starbucks and many others like Jousting Penguin Coffee Roasters with their Rockhopper Espresso for inspiration and great stories to illustrate.

Coffee Art Epiphany - Jean-Marie Peigna

2006-01-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Jean-Marie Peigna, born in 1955, apparently doesn’t like coffee he just paints with it. Unfortunately his Web site www.coffeepainting.com leaves you guessing if you try to go in through the front door. I found if you Google his images you can find pages on his site.

Some information on him from his site:

“Peigna's material of choice is coffee recycled, roasted, ground, liquefied
for its extracts, the green bean is the sole and final element of this palette.
Since his first encounter in 1980 in Colombia, coffee has been an epiphany for
Peigna who has found in this "tool" the universal and spiritual values enshrined
in the fruits of creation. As noble as earth itself, the dark, dense brown color
shines with surprising luminosity and brilliance.

Peigna's paintings are charged of energy, and they captivate for the
vitality they convey. They embody multiformity, which is one the most
distinguishing aspects of 20th century art. Peigna's work has been viewed
internationally in gallery exhibitions.

It has also been the subject of television news programs : CNN
Worldwide, Fox 5TV WNYW New York, and TV Asahi Tokyo, Japan.

Since 1993, the farm in San Vito Costa Rica is an art work in
progress.”

Some of his work reminds me of a Northwest artist. I want to say Jasper Johns but I’m not sure. I have the images in my head but I’m not positive he was the artist.

Ezju's Coffee Painting Links:

No Such Animal Studios
Coffee Culture Merchandis

Costa Rica Coffee Printing "Cafegrafia®" - Saul Bolanoz

2005-12-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

Costa Rica has some very interesting coffee art that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Not just paintings with coffee but also a printing process where they can reproduce images using a coffee printing process. You can get images on cards, coffee filters and even money reproduced in finely ground coffee. To top this off there is a photography printing process that adds a very unique and warm feeling to the photograph.

The printing process is vague. No real detail other than it is printed with real finely ground coffee and is sealed to retain the aroma for many years (under refrigeration.) From their description, you can taste the coffee if you like. I’ve tasted my highly concentrated paint and it’s not what I want to do! They boast that it will not fade in light. I may have to put that to the test. I do like the images they are presenting. These are similar scenes I would like to paint when I start my travels to coffee producing countries.

This started in Costa Rica in 1988 as a photographic process that was termed CAFEGRAFIA® (coffee graphics) or coffee art. It was a process of coffee impression (photographic) directly onto light sensitive ceramic glaze. The ceramic tiles were coated with an emulsion capable of reacting with liquid coffee. Not all the detail was captured in this process. The artist was Saul Bolanoz.

In looking for a process that would retain all details he extracted light sensitive oils from the green coffee berries. This produced an excellent photographic image without handwork at all. It had limitations though. It took 10 minutes to expose, too long for production. The oil was broken down in to oils (it was a combination). Using the oil that was faster time was brought down to 1 minute but was color blind. It was evolved, not sure how, to be sensitive to the full color spectrum and expose in 5 seconds. This was about 1992.

In a third process, silver emulsion was used. By chemical means, the metallic image produced by processing the same, could be made to react with coffee (liquid or powdered). This process was used through 1995.

Soul wanted to print directly to anything, literally. Spoons, plates even eggs. He used small glazed ceramic plates and metal spoons. This ran through 1995.

His 6^th coffee imaging process started around 1994 and consisted of 100% coffee images produced on filter paper making it a drinkable art. These became available to the public in 1995.

There is also a section on the web site that shows coffee images on the wood of the coffee plant. The site describes the process in some detail.

I am very curios about all of this. When I go to Costa Rica a plan to stop in a visit this artist if that is possible. I will definitely look into some of the techniques described on this web site and who know, I may incorporate some if the techniques into my work. At the very least I plan to send some of my coffee paintings to be reproduced with the coffee printing technique!

Costa Rica Coffee Art

Ezju's links
No Such Animal Studios (coffee culture painting series)
Coffee Culture Merchandise
Ezju's Blog at SharpLogic Software

Coffee Culture: Clouds in My Coffee

2005-12-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

Most of the coffee paintings covered so far in this blog have been of a similar technique, coffee or espresso at some level of consistency applied as a watercolor. Individual artist styles have varied and subject matter has been all over the board. I’ve been working on a new technique, well new to me and coffee that is. En Caustic; using wax as a medium.

The original plan was to paint the local coffee roasters, starting with Caffé Vita, using the en caustic technique to build layers and give the painting a unique industrial feel. The issue that I ran into was coffee is an organic not inert. I’ll explain. When paints are made with water, oil or acrylic pigment is added to the medium until it is saturated. This process forms a solution. These pigments are inert materials like minerals. Coffee when added to the wax has an interesting effect and at best forms a suspension. This effect, no matter how interesting did not work for what I had in mind for the coffee roaster paintings. It did however spark another idea.

Baristas have an art called “latte art” or “foam art”. It’s the designs that some make in the foam on the top of a coffee drink. These images can be quite elaborate or simply beautiful. These designs can appear in what is known as a Rosetta, etching or an apple. I’m sure it’s not limited to these but it seems that these are the major categories. I have even seen some that appear to be the faces of animals or characters. See blog on latte art.

Combining the effects that I discovered with coffee an wax with the latte art concept I started a series Coffee Culture: Clouds in My Coffee. It’s homage to the barista art form. As you look down into your cup of coffee you may see one of the temporary master pieces, and I mean that (you try one), or you may just see your milk or cream swirling around creating a dreamy escape from the stress of the day. This is the driving concept behind Clouds in My Coffee, that and a little Janice Joplin!

I am just finishing up my first show with 9 of these coffee encautics. Early this spring will have another featuring this series and all the new creations. ‘Till then . . . enjoy a cup!

As for the series on the roasters? I will be starting them this spring for a fall or winter show in 2006. I’ll keep you posted and even give a sneak peek here!

Pornchai Lethammasiri Enjoys the Challenges of Painting With Coffee

2005-12-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Pornchai Lethammasiri is another artist from Thailand who uses coffee as his medium of choice. I came across his name on Asia-Art.net.

Pornchai experienced some of the same trials and tribulations that I did and I’m assuming other coffee artists have. Texture of the coffee has to just right. I condense my coffee and if done incorrectly is will become elastic and difficult to manipulate on the support. Drying time with coffee is longer than watercolor but shorter than oils and depending on your technique could take weeks in some areas and hours in others. Mold is an issue because coffee is an organic. I use a varnish on my artwork to ensure it is sealed and safe from mold.

His subject matter is very different than mine and even the other coffee artists mentioned in this blog. Waterfalls, distant mountains and boats. Very indicative of his homeland and very beautiful! He got the idea to paint with coffee from the Chinese using tea to tint the background of their paintings.

On of the things that amazes me about this guy is that he does a 30” x 30” painting in about 15 minutes. His work looks like he spent much more time on it. Most of my work takes hours to days to complete.

Full article and a Q&A session with Pornchai

At some point early in 2006 I plan to contact all of the coffee artist mentioned in this blog and more if I can find them to see if they are interested in doing a large scale coffee painting show here in Seattle. To have that many coffee artist together in one place would surely be something to witness. I’ll keep you post on developments.

Ezju’s Links

No Such Animal Studios

Coffee Culture Merchandise

Prints - Mugs - Calendars of Coffee Culture Paintings!

2005-12-17T13:53:00.000-08:00

If you are wondering who this guy is who has a blog about coffee please feel free to visit his web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net for more information on the artist and his work.

If you enjoy coffee culture and would like coffee mugs, calendars, magnates and other cool things with coffee paintings on them please visit the artists store at cafépress. Items will be added on a regular basis.

Fine art prints (Giclée prints) are available at the artist’s web site.

Thank you!

Child's Coffee Painting of Tsunami

2005-12-16T18:42:00.000-08:00

April 4 was the 100th day since the tsunami.

In keeping with the Buddhist tradition of releasing the spirit of the deceased 100 days after death, many memorial ceremonies were held across the country.

The epicenter of the devastation in Thailand is a town called Khao Lak, which when translated into English means something like 'the highest point'. Because of the severity of the devastation and loss of life in this area, a three day memorial was organized with the final day coinciding with the 100th day.

What does this have to with coffee culture? This image was painted by a child in coffee and was on display at the memorial. It is the child's interpritation of the Tsunomi with a frame of sand.

You should check out the Full article

Part of my goal with the Coffee Culture series is to show the differences in culture and how even something as simple as coffee can be used, viewed and basically affect the culture of a region of world. In this case, a child is using what is available to him in his culture to paint something very traumatic in his life.

In the United States, children don’t paint with coffee. Coffee is something that is enjoyed by adults, for the most part as a leisurely activity. Our children use child safe non-toxic paints to paint with (except mine, she paints with coffee and wax). In other cultures, it is not uncommon to paint with coffee or tea; Columbia or Coast Rica for instance or in this cases a child in Thailand.

Barista Foam Art - Latte Art

2005-12-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me that when in a previous entry I mentioned Barista Foam Art or latte art some might not know what I meant. There is a good representation of this art form on flickr (the best way to store, search, sort and share your photos). It is a collection of latte art images from Victrola and elsewhere.

If you have never heard of this fun little facet of coffee culture, please take a look at this collection of images. You will be amazed. If you have noticed when the barista has made a beautiful pattern for you to drink down, you will still be amazed at some of these. Enjoy!

Anything I Could Find From the Earth

2005-12-16T14:44:00.000-08:00

I ran across an article about a Romanian artist Simona Carmen Panciu. It was about a recent show in oils but Simona does mention using coffee as pigment, at least in school.

Ms Panciu studied art in Iasi, Romania, first - where she said her art teacher encouraged her to paint using "anything I could find from the earth".

"My teacher, Mr Butnaru, taught me that colours are all around and he encouraged me to look around and use anything I could find - like tea or coffee to get burnt sienna tint, grass or leaves to get green."

Full Article

Of course I tried to Google Simona but found I couldn’t read Romanian so I’m not even sure if the are talking about the same woman. I do know from the article that she is a graphic designer, fine artist, fashion show coordinator and designer, and is a member of the World Art and Culture Exchange Association. She also took first place in the Woman’s Art Exhibition at the Bahrain National Museum back in 2000.

Prison Alumni Coffee Painting - William Frazier

2005-12-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

I ran across this article because of the coffee painting by William Frazier but had to go back and read it again because of the rest of the content. This show comprised of works by Connecticut inmates, presented through the Prison Arts Program (part of Community Partners in Action, a nonprofit organization which devotes itself to the rehabilitation of prisoners). Very cool programs. You should read the entire article.

What really sparked my curiosity was about the time I first started to paint with coffee there was a show put on by an inmate from a local prison. Apparently he had been painting with coffee using home made brushes out of toilet paper. He would paint on any small scrap of paper he could find. The guards would take his artwork if they found it so he started to mail them home. It was kind of a self-prescribed art therapy for him to work out issues and cope with prison life. I would very much like to have seen his show but I’m not even sure of his name. If you know e-mail me at ezju@nosuchanimal.net

I Googled William Frazier but didn’t find any of his art work. I’ll try again later!

Culture is Alive at Charter Oaks

By: Lindsay Dakan Issue date: 12/13/05 Section: Arts

Selected Paragraph

“The art that comes out of this program is absolutely incredible. All the artists on display at Charter Oak are alumnae of the program who are now building on the creativity they developed while in prison. The exhibit presents a diverse selection of paintings and sculptures (made out of everything from marble and bronze to Styrofoam, soap and cardboard), and all are striking in their own way. Most notable, in my mind, is a painting of a face by William Frazier, done in reds, oranges, yellows and browns (for which coffee was used) that swirl together and dance around downward-cast eyes that simply pop out of the paper. The colors appear to have been blown around the paper with a straw - a method I remember from arts and crafts in elementary school, but with results nowhere near comparable to this work.”

Entire article

Coffee Painting by Any Other Name is now Arfé

2005-12-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

Arfé has been defined as the creation of artworks by staining with coffee.

It has been written that this term may have been coined by the Puerto Rican artist, Francisco Rivera Rosa, to describe his coffee painting technique. The word seems to have come from a combination of words art and café. This would makes Arfé a portmanteau.

Vocabulary word for the day: A portmanteau (plural: portmanteaus or portmanteaux) is a term in linguistics that refers to a word or morpheme that fuses two or more grammatical functions. A folk usage of portmanteau refers to a word that is formed by combining both sounds and meanings from two or more words. In linguistics, these false portmanteaux are called blends.

This information was derived from Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia that is publicly edited and the reviewed for accuracy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arf%C3%A9

After reading the article, which is paraphrased above and then reading the discussion on the article I have questions as to whether this definition is real. My opinion on it is that even if it wasn’t real to begin with, I’m going to make it real now. I’m going to start using this word to describe my work just for fun.

Another interesting this is that I have done several searches to find Francisco Rivera Rosa online (Google & MSN) to no avail. I may have to take a look at some art history books. I feel I should know this name but I can’t seem to place him. More later. If anyone has any information on him please contact me.

To view some coffee art, please feel free to visit my web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net

Ezju

Elusive Coffee Artist Mira Chudasama

2005-12-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

I was dinking around online today and came across an artist portfolio for Mira Chudasama at absoluteart.com. Following some of her links I found some comments by her and/or another I thought I’d share. I wish I could find more but some of her links are dead. I'll keep looking!

"My experiences with watercolor painting have been more excited. I have heard of using own hand made stone colors by artists. While going through international art techniques and exhibitions, I was really inspired from Thai’s coffee painting. It demands mainly your control and hand over watercolor paintings. It makes me trying and success was not so far ahead. I tried with ‘Coffee’ for my exhibitions where I presented more other 9 medium arts"

"No doubts, this medium’s touch is very challenging. You need patience and creative while making your art with ‘Coffee’ painting. It has more resilient than any other paint. You need to be cautious while using water to thin and proposing shades on paper or canvas. With my painting ‘Carving’, it was just like an examination of my line control skills while using ‘Coffee’ as medium. It has more sparkling and shining. It is quite successful using on ‘Canvas’ rather simple paper as it molds easily. However, Coffee’s mark effect on the paper and the flow of water mixed with coffee is amusing. Further it is good to see as your medium of painting what you use daily and which is near to you" Effects of Coffee Paintings Historical or old buildings, waterfalls, distant mountain, streets in one shade or anything which is kind of brown color can be made with coffee. Uniqueness achieved by coffee painting cannot be delivered by any other medium Other than Coffee Painting, I found ‘Ceramic’ as another good medium to paint with. That gives you emboss effect and you can further give 3D look to certain extend.

The only thing I really have to add to her observations is that coffee is particularly hard to maintain a solid straight line with. It is very cohesive with a tacky surface cohesion that allows it to break and land where it wants with a think application.

Mira's Art Links:
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/m/mirac
http://www.brainbubbles.biz
http://www.brainbubbles.biz/amifinearts/coffee.htm

The Coffee Religion

2005-12-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

My first coffee painting has brought about comments I had not expected. This piece is entitled Barista with Syrup Bottles. A harmless enough concept. As I watched her from in the dark café, morning light was streaming in the drive through window. Squinting distorted the bottles a bit but the light was too bright. I started to sketch. It was from this sketch that I made the first painting and started the Coffee Culture series.

The comments I receive most about this image have to do with religion and specifically Jesus. Most who view this piece think there is some holy theme or message that I’m trying to get across. At first it was annoying because I wanted everyone to see what I intended them to see.

I’ve read articles on coffee, read books on coffee, spoke to those in the industry and sat waxing philosophical with coffee fanatics in cafes. It hit me like a 100 pound burlap bag full of Columbia’s finest. Coffee silly, what else would I be talking about? The way people worship coffee isn’t too far from religious zealous.

I don’t get annoyed any more when I’m asked about the coffee Jesus light painting any more. I smile and know that they love coffee and they get it.

Barista with Syrup Bottles is 16" x 20" and painted in Starbucks French Roast on Amperstand Smooth Clayboard.

Coffee - Consumed by the Eye Alone

2005-12-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

I've looked for more of Chanisa's work online but haven't found her personal portfolio site. There are a few Blogs and sites with her mentioned with images on though.

Her sepia style is as wistful as it is beautiful. From what I gather from the article, her technique is not so different from mine as far as the creation of the coffee paint.

Chanisa uses painting with coffee as a form of meditation. "It is my most powerful meditation method. It brings the faith of my past, the love of my present and the hope of my future to the ‘now' moment," she says. A very wise and powerful sentiment. Beautiful.

It's the age old question. Why coffee? well I hear it quite a bit! My reason is a quest for cultural understanding. Mine and others in the world. I'm painting different cultures through one theme. Coffee. When I'm done there will be a collective work showing how one thing effects and is embraced by different cultures. It will be a very diverse visual description of the world.

I think Chanisa's reason is as wistfuly beautiful as her work. Quoting from the article by Jim Baker.

Arthachinda, a native of Thailand who has lived in Lawrence on and off since 1980, says the idea to use espresso to paint came to her in a dream.

"A wise woman told me that I am a painter. I was aware I was dreaming, and so I asked her what kind of medium the painter was using in the dream," she says.

The next morning, Arthachinda made an intuitive leap that coffee was the answer to her question.

"I just poured my espresso on my canvas" and started painting, she says."

With no formal art training she has produced over 29 coffee paintings. She has earned a doctorate in educational technology from Kansas University, she's a retired architect and has published seven books in Thailand about her childhood emotional growth and parenting.

There is more information on this amazing woman online and in the aforementioned article. If you are interested in reading more about Chanisa Arthachinda you can Google her or visit some of these links.

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/may/07/grinding_it_out

http://www.debraerikson.com/chanissa/introchanissa.html

http://coffeeworks.blogs.com/coffee_and_tea/2005/05/espresso_art_pa.html

Not Just Coffee: Coffee + Creativity = Art

2005-12-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

When I first started painting with coffee back in 2002 I would get asked if others were painting with the same medium. This is something I had not considered up to that point. If I was doing it surly someone else was, Zeitgeist and all right? I Googled coffee art and one of the first sites I came across was http://www.justcoffeeart.com, the Web site of Andy Saur and Angel Sarkela-Saur.

At the time they had several works in coffee but the themes were centered around wildlife, nature and some portraits. None of which made sense to me as to why they would paint these things in coffee. I wasn’t thrilled with their style either. As time went on they started producing works with coffee themes but not many. I’m still not into the subject matter that they choose but their style is growing on me.

Their web site is very well put together and is definitely worth a gander for anyone interested in coffee as a medium.

It has been fun to read about how other artists have made coffee into a medium. In Andy and Angel’s case they experimented with trying to sketch with the bean and grinding it up to make pastels. In my trials, grinding the beans and attempting to suspend them in linseed oil and acrylic can be added to attempted techniques. I found that using coffee as a watercolor worked best as did they. It’s funny how people from different parts of the country or the world can come up with the same idea, trouble shoot the issues met and create beautiful art.

Coffee Art with Humor - Karen Eland

2005-12-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

I tend to enjoy a good sense of humor. Combine that with good artwork and you have a winning combination. I came across Karen Eland’s site http://www.coffee-art.com about six months ago and immediately smiled. Karen’s work is both skillful and very unassuming. Some day I will purchase one of her originals.

Karen paints reproductions of classic paintings such as the Mona Lisa and American Gothic but with a coffee twist transforming them into Mona Latte and Americano Gothic. She is a self-taught artist with plenty of talent and apparently some marketing savvy from the looks of her web site.

The style that Karen uses is different than mine and produces a wonderfully layered and toned image. You should definitely check out her work.

In 2006 I would like to contact each of the artists that I mention in this blog and put together a colossal coffee artist show. I hope that they are receptive to this idea. Time will tell. I’ll post contacts and results here when they come in. I will also post information on this mythical show on my web site http://www.nosuchanimal.net.