Seattle's Coffee Artist - Ezju Live with Kathy Goertzen

Right after John Sharify of KOMO 4 News ran his feature on Seattle's Coffee Artist entitled "Only in Seattle: Artist Paints with Coffee" Ezju appeared live, interviewed by the Emerald City's Kathy Goertzen!



Kathy Goertzen was very kind and fun, she even had on leather pants! Not what I was expecting at all. She made me feel right at home even though I was terrified. What if I said the wrong thing or froze? It all come off very well I think!



KOMO 4 Evening News. 30 Nov. 2004. ABC. , Seattle. 30 Nov. 2004.

During the John Sharify feature I was filmed painting a piece called The Morning News. Kathy Goertzen gave me the opportunity to show off the finished work live! She asked how I got started painting with coffee and followed up to the new work.



On a side note, right behind me waiting in line for his chance on TV was the Republican candidate for the then (and oddly enough this years) race for the Washington state governors office. He came on some time after me and the whales in Puget Sound!

For those who don't know, Ezju is a Seattle based artist who uses coffee not just as a subject matter but also as an artistic medium. His work centers around coffee culture and the coffee industry with a strong emphasis on the commodities effect on world cultures and vise versa. Ezju is also the lead graphic designer and art director at Ph'Kaki Media & Design.

You can view Ezju's coffee paintings at www.nosuchanimal.net

Flighty Girl Took a Coffee Break

Flighty Girl took a coffee break and used the article I mentioned a few days ago from Art Projects for Kids - Haunted House Coffee Painting!

Here are a couple images she posted. Her story was short and sweet but the little boy seemed to be having fun despite a cold. I may have to hang up my coffee painting brushes! Apparently anyone can do it!

"I've been cooking up some good indoor activities in preparation for the long winter, and I came across this idea at Art Projects for Kids. It's so perfect for me - I have copious amounts of coffee at all times, am constantly spilling it, so what's the difference if it's them of me? - so the idea of painting with it was right up my alley."

Take a look at my studio Website www.nosuchanimal.net and compare the little boys paintings and mine! Have a cup-o-joe and enjoy both!

Ezju Interviewed by John Sharify of KOMO 4

Shortly after Ezju's interview with John Miller of Evening Magazine's Miller's Time he was called by KOMO 4 for a feature by John Sharify to air on the 6:00 News.

John Sharify and crew came to Ezju's studio which at the time was located at 1020 First Ave. South in Downtown Seattle. Ezju was working on a piece called The Morning News and was filmed painting this work. Later that night Ezju unveiled the finished painting during a live interview with KOMO 4's Kathy Goertzen! This will be posted later this week.



Sharify, John. "Only in Seattle: Artist Paints with Coffee." 6:00 News. ABC. KOMO 4, Seattle. 30 Nov. 2004.

The various hues of a woman

A small article I found in the Sakaal Times entitled The various hues of a woman. This article was written by Arwa Janjali and published on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 AT 7:10 PM.

There was some mention of a Kolkata-based painter, Tamali Dasgupta , using coffee powder among other things as a medium.

"Dasgupta uses acrylic but for sketches and other small paintings on paper, she uses lipstick, coffee powder and cut pieces from photographs as her medium."

"My work depicts all the innovations taking place around me concerning women. Since, I am a modern woman myself, I can relate to them and this subject is always there in my subconscious mind. Also, I believe that all artists are lonely in some way and I consider myself lonely too. Hence, loneliness plays an important role in all my paintings," explains Dasgupta, whose main area of work revolves around myriad psychological aspects of modern feminine introspection.

Cofea arabica & The Art of Erica Chappuis

For years now I've been painting with coffee at No Such Animal Studios as an artistic medium and continuously on the watch for emerging or recently discovered (by me at least) artists who also enjoy non-traditional mediums such as coffee. From time to time a few pop-up and every once in a while that pop-up is very noteworthy as is the case with Erica Chappuis.

When painting with coffee I chose to paint scenes of coffee culture starting in the United States with hopes of traveling the world to other cultures and coffee producing nations. I wanted to show how this commodity was used and it's influences on different walks of life with very different customs and ideas. This project is still in the works. This notion that technique for technique's sake is fine to a point but art should have a higher purpose and I feel that as with my notion of painting world coffee cultures using coffee as an artistic medium Erica Chappuis shares a similar view of art.

Running across Chappuis's Blog Une Vie d'Artiste and her recent work showcased in the entry Cofea arabica was very refreshing in a way that Starbucks could never be again! Her work not just in coffee is very graceful, warm, inviting, full of meaning and life, and sensual. A must see!

Quote from Chappuis's Une Vie d'Artiste (Cofea arabica)

". . . I don't look at a simple painting in an unusual technique as quite enough. For me, it is an element in a painting which should speak in some way which heightens the subject matter with which I am dealing."

Chappuis has discovered what several coffee painters have enjoyed over the years. Coffee helps produce wonderfully warm and inviting images with it's near sepia effect. The types of effects achieved with different coffee techniques is as varied as the possible subject matter and styles.

What sets Erica Chappuis apart from some artists is not just how well rendered her images seem but the warmth and emotional impact of the people in the paintings as well as the strong concept behind Erica's artistic philosophy.

Quote from Chappuis's Une Vie d'Artiste (Cofea arabica)

"I hadn't worked with coffee at all, and it is a beverage with a definitely rich history, much of it Arab and African. The fragrance of it is familiar, warm and comforting. It can signify hospitality in a lonely place - pretty much all over the world."

For more information on Erica Chappuis and her work please visit her Website The Art of Erica Chappuis (http://pages.prodigy.net/erica.chappuis/). Below is some information from her site about the artist.

From Erica Chappuis's Website: The Art of Erica Chappuis

"Erica Chappuis was born in Washington DC . She began taking yearly summer courses at the Corcoran School of Art and studying with independent Washington area artists at age thirteen. In high school she was selected for a special, experimental course in portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution - the first of its kind offered by the Smithsonian."

"Chappuis graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She traveled to Switzerland, where she married, and thus gained dual nationality."

"Chappuis has been a practicing artist ever since, specializing in erotic and sensual subjects. She is represented in many private collections. Museum representation includes the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., the Erotic Art Museum in Barcelona, Spain and the collection of the Kinsey Institute for Research, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University. Her work has been featured on the PBS television programs, "Video Detroit" and "Backstage Pass". She is listed in several books, including erotic art books, and Marquis' "Who's Who in American Women"."

The Art of Erica Chappuis
http://pages.prodigy.net/erica.chappuis/
Une Vie d'Artiste

Ezju on Evening Magazine's Miller's Time

When I was first starting out painting with coffee John Miller of Evening magazine's Miller's Time came to my studio apartment in the north end of Seattle for an interview. I had no idea what to expect. A marketing rep from Caffe Vita, a local coffee roaster with several small stores around Seattle, came over to meet with the coffee artist and do some product placement.

John Miller and his crew arrived with lights, cameras, and mics. Very very nice people. Seeing that I was nervous they made me feel right at home in my . . . home.

The result is history so to speak. Enjoy the clip.



Evening Magazine. Miller's Time NBC. KING 5, Seattle. 15 Apr. 2004.

My studio Website, No Such Animal Studios, can be found at www.nosuchanimal.net

Coffee Painted Haunted House Project for Kids!

The Crafty Crow, a children's craft collective, posted a link to a fun coffee painting project for kids at Art Project for Kids. The original article was published in a recent Arts & Activities magazine and Kathy Barbro, elementary-age art teacher loved the look so much she passed it on in her Blog Art Project for Kids!

All coffee painting aside, both these Blogs (The Crafty Crow and Art Projects for Kids) are wonderful resources and you should check them out! Enjoy the coffee article as well!