How to Paint with Coffee

Last Updated: November 10, 2022 Tested

For this technique, you can use both instant and regular coffee as paint. Instant coffee is a great time-saver since all you have to do is dissolve some instant coffee in water. Once you know how, you can make different hues and use coffee to paint a simple piece of artwork.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting Familiar With Your Materials

1
Purchase your materials. Before you sit down to paint, make sure you have all the materials necessary to successfully complete a coffee painting. You will need instant coffee, a pencil, some newspapers, tissue paper for blotting up excess coffee, and have available at least 3 small cups or whatever you have on hand. Buy paint brushes of varying sizes, as well as watercolor paper on which to paint on.
2
Set up your workspace. After you purchase all your materials, it is a good idea to set up your space for painting. Start by spreading out some newspapers on a table and place the watercolor paper on top. Fill up a cup with water and place it at the workspace.

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3
Make colors in separate cups. Drop a small amount of instant coffee powder into the separate cups. Use a brush to moisten the coffee powder. Wait for the coffee to dissolve and mix well with the brush.
4
Experiment with adding water to the coffee. Before you start your painting, it is a good idea to get used to working with coffee. To make a dark hue, mix the coffee powder with as little water as possible. The amount of powder should not be more than that of water. This will give a very dark brown color. For the medium hue, add in some more water. For an even lighter hue add even more water. Varying the amount of water can bring out the different shades of brown.
- When mixing water with coffee in the cups, always start with the powder, then add water with your brush.
- Dilute the paint gradually. It’s better to add too little water than too much, because you can always add more.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Planning and Starting Your Painting

1
Create the background. Using a wet surface technique we will create the background. First wet the paper with a very light hue of coffee paint. While the paint is still wet, drop in more blobs of coffee paint. Do this randomly until you get a non-tactile texture that forms your background. Wait for the paint to dry.
2
Lightly draw your design. Think about what you are planning to paint. It is very useful to lightly sketch your design onto the surface that you are going to paint on. Use a graphite pencil to lightly draw what you are going to paint.
3
Start painting. Paint using the darkest color for the outline of your design.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Finishing Your Painting

1
Add paint when the first layer is dry. It is important to let your layers dry completely before painting on top of them. If you start to paint on top of a wet layer, the colors will swirl and mix in a way that is very hard to control.
- If your colors do begin to bleed, stop painting and let them dry, then paint over the blended area with the desired color.
2
Add dimension to your design. Take some clean water on a detail brush. Paint above the outer edges to continue adding color and dimension.
3
Add details using a small brush. Go in with a small brush and add details to your piece. Water easily dilutes the coffee paint leaving it lighter wherever applied. So lighten some small areas.
4
Refine your piece. After you add details to your design, go back and refine your design, correcting any mistakes and adding any finishing touches. Make sure that the paint is dry before you go in to finish your piece.
5
Frame your piece. If your final work is something you are really proud of, consider framing the painting behind glass to protect it from weathering and aging.

Community Q&A

Question

1. Is coffee as a medium successful on canvas instead of paper? 2. Can a spray preservative be used once the painting is totally dry?

Community Answer

Since coffee is so watery, I think watercolor paper is the best choice. I would test the spray preservative first to make sure it doesn't react weird.
Question

Do you use warm, cold or boiling water?

Aanya Gadodia

Community Answer

Any will be okay, as you are not trying to brew coffee, just wet it. It would be best to use a medium temperature because with hot water, you may burn your hand and it may be harder to dissolve in cold water.