Coffee Painting for Beginners
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If you love coffee, why not have a go at creating art with it? Coffee painting can produce an interesting sepia effect in your artwork, not to mention it’s cheap to get your hands on and easy to create with too. Not to mention, you’ll also get to be enveloped by the amazing aroma whilst you work on your masterpiece!
We think it sounds like a dream come true, which is why we’ve put together this guide on coffee painting for beginners. Find out what you need to get started on your first coffee creation.
Coffee painting for beginners
Coffee is a fantastic medium to work with and it may surprise you that many have likened it to painting with watercolour as the coffee mixture behaves in a similar way.
If you’re looking to get started, we find that the best way is to just experiment, get a feel for the mixture and most importantly, have fun! If you’re stuck getting started, Instagram is a great place to brew up some inspiration. From portraits and still life to graphic design, there’s plenty of easy coffee painting ideas and fun ways to get creative.
What you need for coffee painting
Ready to get started? Here’s what you’ll need, most items you’ll probably already have at home!
- • Quality paper (watercolour paper works best), you can get much deeper hues when working with higher quality paper
- • Pencil and a rubber if you’re planning on doing any outline work
- • Instant coffee, our Nescafé Red Mug works perfectly for coffee painting
- • A variety of brushes, depending on what you hope to create
- • Masking tape
- • Kitchen towel for any spills
- • Scrap paper
- • Rags
The above list is just a guide and what you need for your easy coffee painting project will depend on what you’ve got in mind.
How to set up for coffee painting
All masterpieces take time and this time includes creating the perfect set up so you can crack on and be a whirling dervish of creativity. Here’s how to perfectly set up for your easy coffee painting session:
Mix the coffee
First up, you’ll want to mix the coffee, but it’s not just a cut and dry case of adding water to a pot and being done with it. You’ll want to mix several different concentrations of coffee to water to select both lighter and darker hues. Some small bowls or espresso cups are perfect for mixing the coffee in.
Make your swatches
If you’ve painted with watercolours before, you may be familiar with the process of making swatches before you begin. This allows you to check the consistency, see the hues of the different coffee concentrations you’ve created and what colours you must work with.
Stick your paper down
Before unleashing your brush on the paper, it’s a good idea to stick it to your table. This not only prevents the paper from moving around whilst you’re working and stops the edges curling up, but it also creates wonderfully crisp borders to complement your artwork.
That’s our guide to coffee painting for beginners and what you need to get started. Don’t forget to check out Instagram for inspiration and once you’re done, why not share with us by tagging us? We’d love to see what you’ve created!
Can’t get enough of coffee art? Check out more of our guides, next!
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