Why use this medium?

Why use this medium? What is attractive about this medium? With this medium, all I need is a brush, water and coffee. I apply it to paper or canvas. It is one color, but within that one color are so many tones. So much can be expressed and seen with that one medium. So much can be done. Painting with coffee for over a decade and a half, I have learned to manipulate it and extract images that express whimsy or complex ideas or images that remind us to stop, examine and appreciate what we see around us.

Angel painting with coffee

On a broader scale it is symbolic of simplifying, to do away with the excess and focus on what is there and fully utilize it. We accumulate stuff and things in life. However, once it is obtained, over time, it sits and is of occasional use.

Then, we continue to accumulate more. We can do with, work with, and function
with less. I love the challenge to see what and how much can be created and expressed with coffee. A painting can be full and complete using the simplest of mediums, so readily available. There is no need for manufactured chemicals, tubes or trays of lined up colors. I am able to create amazing, compelling, peaceful or complex with the minimalist of materials.