Coffee art takes off

David Howells

2011-09-12 02:02 PM

Coffee lovers could soon find a second use for their espresso coffee machines: art.

The craze for using coffee as paint began with American artist and coffee-lover Karen Eland who realised that mixing espresso with water created a brown watercolour paint perfect for the job in hand. To get darker colours, Eland simply goes over previous layers until the right colour is attained.

Eland has recreated many masterpieces of art using just coffee, including da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in which the subject is drawn holding a mug of latte. Eland has also created her own version of Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring and Waterhouse’s Ophelia, both of whom are holding mugs of coffee.

Inspiration has also come from more modern times, with a version of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement photo also being given the coffee-treatment.

Speaking to the Daily Mail of how the hobby came about, Eland explained: “I do love coffee, and have worked at several shops very passionately.

“It all started in 1998 when I was sitting in a coffee shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, painting a watercolour. I kept staring at the beautiful brown of the espresso shots as they came from the machine, thinking how coffee stains things, and perhaps I could paint with it. I mentioned it to the barista who said I could try it, and coffee art was born.”

However, Eland realises that drinking too much coffee during work may have a detrimental affect on the end result.

“I restrict myself to two cups while painting,” she told The Sun, “or I get too shaky.”