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Coffee, Cream, and Copic.

3/7/2013

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Here in Chicago, we just had the kind of all day snowstorm that makes you want to curl up and nap aaaa~ll day.

Whelp, that calls for a special kind of drink: Coffee!

I have to admit, I'm a little bit of a coffee...snob? I only buy whole beans, grind them one serving at a time, and brew my java in a french press.  But really, I'm not that much of a coffee snob; I drink way more tea ( and Wine ) than coffee <3 Enjoy out this post about coffee and coffee art, and feel free to click on any of the photos to view them bigger.

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The Drink: Peet's Whole Bean Coffee "Major Dickason's Blend", Dark Roast.
The Place: The Wet Stain Studio, Chicago IL
The Art: Coffee Stain, Copic Caoi Markers, Micron Sepia .05pt fine liner, Hot Press Watercolor paper, craft paper.

Yup, you read that right! Coffee stain is a legit part of the piece I created for this fun experiment.  Coffee art is a fun thing done among a handful of experimental artists, ranging from tattoo artists to fine artists a like.  As a lover of the wet ring that forms around the base of an over full cup, I used that shape when developing my logo.  This time, I decided to just let the coffee cup to its work.  With a little cream and a half cap-full of caramel syrup, I brought a  full cup of coffee over to my watercolor paper and let it do its thing as I put it down.

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Peet's, which also has a chain of coffee shops, was a brand I found after several whole bean options had let me down.  I make a lot of purchases solely on price, and this bad boy had a coupon that I proudly left displayed, on purpose (ehem!). "Major Dickason's Blend" is a caramely dark roast that lingers without getting bitter, and smells AMAZING!  The bag is super well insulated and heavy duty, so no smells or flavors escape.  But once it's opened, the beans are oily and glossy, fragrant and wonderful. 

I was really pleased with the wet stain garnered by giving an overly full cup a slight jostling, so I left it alone to dry and enjoyed my coffee.  While some consider it blaspheme to add things to a good brew, my go to is vanilla soy or almond milk, and caramel, gingerbread, or cinnamon flavored syrups~

Then the fun begins!  At first, I had ideas to do an Art Nouveau portrait, with long hair tumbling down into the coffee stain.  However, once I flipped the piece over, I decided on a Great Horned Owl.  I tried to let the original stain show through and give most of the shape and personality, adding value with the brush tip of a Copic Marker and line art with a Sepia, Micron fine liner.
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While the paper was a randomish piece I cannot trace back 100%, I know it was a hot press watercolor paper and very heavy weight.  The wetness of the coffee stain took hours to dry, and the fine liner bled in think stands when the pen lingered too long on the porous surface.  However, the thickness of the paper made it fun to tear into and allowed me to create a boarder that paired well with two other craft papers I had. 

The finished piece, a Great Horned Owl on twisting branches, double mounted on craft paper, is now available in my Etsy shop! Coffee beans not included, I guess -- Unless you really really want them! I hope you enjoyed adventuring through my coffeeland, and at the very least you now know how I like my coffee ;) 

See ya tomorrow! I'm thinking Friday might call for something a little stronger than coffee or tea . . .

-Ali
The Wet Stain

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    Ali

    Mistaking dirty watercolor water for tea, and putting wet brushes in earl grey. 

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