Shades of Coffee: A Meaningful Painting

Hi friends, especially those artsy pips! How is it going? It's @shassays is here again💗 These past few days have been so busy! So for this day, I am going to share with you an old art of mine, it is a school project, a coffee painting were the theme is about Faith and Freedom.

It was my first time creating a coffee painting; I was having a hard time doing it at first, but with my continuous trial and error, I finally did it! Since the theme is about Faith and Freedom, I only focused my idea on the two; no more running around the bush, haha. I chose to draw a dove because it symbolizes peace, love, and purity in different cultures. On the other hand, to show faith, I changed the wings of the dove to a hand praying with a rosary in it. For me, it felt like the perfect way to connect the two ideas into one meaningful image. For you to know how I did it, please continue reading <33

The materials I used

1. Coffee
2. Paintbrushes
3. Vellum board
4. Water
5. Bowls

Preparing the materials

I gathered the coffee, water, paintbrushes, bowls, and vellum paper. I used different amounts of coffee to create light and dark tones.

Sketching the outline

I drew the dove, hand, and rosary for the outline with a pencil. I maintained simple lines since coffee painting is based on shading for detail.

Mixing the coffee

I started mixing coffee with water to make a lighter, more diluted shade. Use this to paint the background in a smooth, even layer. Once done, I let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Painting the main elements

It is good, to begin with the lighter shading on the dove and the hand and slowly build up with the darker layers for shading to create shadowing and depth. Let each layer dry before adding the next. I use a fine brush and darker coffee brown to outline the rosary beads. Add shadows and highlights in the dove, hand, and rosary. Use a dry brush technique for nice textures.

For the final touches, I went over the details, smoothed out the edges, and made sure everything looked just right. Then, I let the painting dry completely to avoid it from smudging.

This coffee painting symbolizes the harmony between faith and peace, which the dove and the praying hand represent. The rosary shows spiritual strength that reminds peace is built through faith and purposeful action.

That's all for today, friends. Thank you so much for reading this blog, I hope you can show your support through an upvote, share, and comment ✨ Have a lovely day! Enjoy your weekend.