(Dianne Ilka interviewed by Ina Mar)

When did you start using coffee to paint with?
I started coffee painting a little over 12 months ago.

What kind of coffee do you use? How do you prepare it?
Generally I use any brand of instant coffee. I mix several teaspoons with a small amount of boiling water. I vary the intensity of the colour by changing the water/coffee ratio.

Do you also purchase conventional art supplies? Which conventional materials do you usually mix or use together with coffee?
I normally use other conventional materials with my coffee paintings to create more contrast. I have dark brown and black pens which I often use as a general outline before starting my painting. I discovered quite early that trying to apply pen over the top of coffee could actually be quite difficult. The coffee tends to get a bit sticky if it has been applied thickly and tends to clog up the pen. This is why lately I have been applying the pen first. Charcoal is often added where I want to darken areas. This mixes well with the coffee. I have also used light coloured pastels to create highlights on my paintings when I haven’t left enough light areas.

What other uncommon materials do you use?
I also use tea and salt in some of my coffee paintings. These materials tend to complement the coffee.

How do you apply coffee on the support?
I normally apply the coffee with a paintbrush, which I use to either paint it directly onto the painting or to splatter it. I also blend and smudge areas with a paper towel for different effects.

What kinds of supports do you use?
I have experimented with a few different kinds of paper to use with coffee painting. All of them help to create different kinds of effects. Normally I use watercolour paper, but even the different brands of watercolour paper can create different effects. Acrylic sketch paper is also great as a support. Once again, you can get different effects with it because the coffee dosen’t soak in as much. With less absorbent paper you can allow the coffee to pool more in places to create some really dark, shiny areas. It’s all about experimenting.

Can you explain a little more about your technique or procedure?
My current style of coffee painting has started to evolve a bit from my original paintings. I generally start with a basic outline in pen. (this saves my pen from blocking up later when I want to add definition or darker areas) From there, I start adding washes of coffee in different strengths. Painting with coffee can be pretty unpredictable so generally I just go where the painting takes me, experimenting along the way. I love to add coarse cooking salt to add texture and interest. It can be used to make areas darker if you use a lot of thick coffee as the coffee tends to stick to it, creating a dark textured effect. Salt can also be used on thinner washes to repel the coffee creating lighter specks. Generally, every coffee painting I do is a bit of an experiment.

Work in progress – Portal di Lucca by Dianne Ilka Very early stages. I have started with a simple pen line drawing. In the past I have used pen AFTER applying coffee and it tends to clog up my pens. Trying a different approach this time.
Work in progress – Portal di Lucca by Dianne Ilka I have first put down a layer of tea to colour the paper a bit. Next was coffee and salt to start building some textures and colours.
Work in progress – Portal di Lucca by Dianne Ilka This time I have added more coffee, salt and some charcoal to darken the coffee a bit. Need to sit back and figure out where I am going to go from here.
Final version: Italian Coffee Break by Dianne Ilka Approx A4 size Coffee, tea, salt, charcoal, pen & pastel on canson watercolour paper This piece was created for the SoJie 12 exhibition and is a translation of the fantastic photo Lucca, Italy by Christina Backus

Why did you choose this material?
I love the idea that painting with coffee is a little bit different from the everyday. I find that it is great for creating nostalgic/rustic pieces. I also love the fact that it is an extremely cheap medium to use. Almost everyone has it in their pantry, so there is really never an excuse not to give it a try.

What comes first: the image or the material?
I definitely find that certain ideas for a painting are more suited to coffee than others. Old, nostalgic things look great in coffee. Sometimes I create a coffee painting because I have a catchy title in mind or just think that the subject matter would look great in coffee. Coffee painting can be quite addictive, so sometimes I just find myself doing a coffee painting purely for the fact that I haven’t done one for a while and really feel the urge to paint a new one.

The Old Trike by Dianne Ilka 7″ × 5″ coffee, charcol, pastel and pen on acrylic sketch paper I have memories of riding this bike as a child at Nan & Pop’s place. It has only just recently been pulled out from under their house. Who knows how many children in the past have done the same. Dianne

The ultimate morning wakeup by Dianne Ilka 8″ × 10″ Coffee, salt, pen and coloured graphite pencil on watercolour paper My coffee paintings seem to take on a mind of their own and this is no exception. Not exactly the rooster I had in mind for this painting but it just started evolving so I went with it. It has turned out looking a lot darker than I had originally planned. I think a lot of that comes down to my lack of experience with watercolour. I guess with practice there can always be a rooster… Dianne

What can you tell us about the conservation of coffee? Have you noticed any changes in time (eg. hue, texture, intensity)? Do you store the artworks in particular conditions in order to conserve them better?
I always frame my coffee paintings with a mat board around them and behind glass. The main thing that seems to affect them is humidity. I have only ever found a problem with this is the coffee has been applied extremely thickly. My “Nescafe Forest” was framed and behind glass, but 12 months ago when we had an extremely wet month and devastating floods in our area I discovered that some of the very thick areas of coffee had dribbled down the painting a bit. I have not had this problem on any of my other coffee paintings though so this “dribble” is actually pretty special to me as it was if my painting was shedding a tear for the loss of life in our area from the floods.

Nescafe Forest by Dianne Ilka 8″ × 10″ coffee, salt & pen on tea background I have been inspired by Elizabeth Kendall’s wonderful trees so I have decided to have a go myself. As with most coffee paintings it really looks better in real life. Dianne

How did the idea occur to you to use coffee?
I originally thought of using coffee to paint with purely due to the fact that I wanted to try watercolours but didn’t have any. I thought that it was a bit of a crazy idea and didn’t realize that other people were already painting with it. I noticed that Maree Clarkson on Redbubble posted a coffee painting so decided that it wasn’t such a crazy idea after all so gave it a try.

How original is your uncommon material?
I have since discovered that there are quite a lot of artists who use coffee as a medium. My main influences in coffee painting have been through Maree Clarkson and Elizabeth Kendall (both from Redbubble)

What is the resonance of your uncommon material to other artists / to the public / to your family and friends?
My local art society is quite a traditional group so it was great to see their reaction when I introduced them to coffee painting. They were actually quite interested and invited me to do a workshop with them with coffee painting. I was also invited to do a workshop at a local nursing home. The look on their faces when I told them that we were going to paint with coffee and tea was priceless! They actually loved their morning.

Give one last useful advice to artists you would like to experiment with coffee!
I think that everyone should try coffee painting at least once! It is heaps of fun, and you don’t need expensive materials. Grab a piece of paper, search the house for any kind of brush/stick/or anything else you can think of for applying the coffee and go for it!

Caffeine Kitty by Dianne Ilka Coffee, salt and pen on watercolour paper Bit of a crazy experimental piece really. The cat kind of “evolved” in the process. Dianne
Coffee Chicks by Dianne Ilka 8″ × 10″ Coffee and pen (with a touch of salt and charcoal) on Arches 300gsm watercolour paper
Old Gate by Dianne Ilka A4 size Coffee and charcoal
In Simpler Times…. by Dianne Ilka 6″ × 4″ coffee and pen on watercolour paper

Love it!

Ina, you have done such an amazing job with all if this! Thankyou so much!!!!! Made my day to see it on here :)

Thanks for including some of mine, Ina, it was RB’s coffee artists who convinced me to try it too!

Thanks everyone for their support! I wonder if people would be able to post their coffee painting attempts in this forum? It would be great to see people give it a try :)

I love how you have used just the minimum of materials …salt, charcoal and of course coffee! so simple and natural..lovely work and thanks for sharing your technique with us

This is such a fabulous How-To! Very inspiring :)

Dianne, your coffee painting how-to is the mostly read and commented in our group! (about 500 views until now!)
Do you have pictures of your coffee art in the local cafe? Imagine you are taking your coffee surrounded with coffee artworks – that must be a nice feeling!

Oh sorry, I think I didn’t ask this right… Do you have photos of your coffee art hanging in the cafe? So we can see what it looks like…