How To Create Art With Nothing But A Cup of Coffee - warning: watch for stains and insects

Problem
You arrive at your wonderful destination. Great view. But you left all your paints at home. Too heavy and bulky to carry. Or you just forgot.

Answers
1 Add paints and pad to your packing list.
2 Buy tiny colouring and painting sets to carry.
3 Look around for items you can use to improvise. Such as? Anything you could use to dye clothes. Anything which makes nasty stains on clothes.

Stories
I once sniffed a flower on the table at the Wetherspoons pub in Hatch End, London. I couldn't understand what had stained the front of my white blouse. I had not eaten curry. Then I returned a week later and sniffed the lovely white lily and got yellow on my face and fingertips.

I like the idea of using whatever is to hand to draw, coffee, chocolate, dust, charcoal. That's how art started, I suppose, on the walls of caves.

There's only one problem with using food and drink for drawing, especially in hot countries. I had a heart shaped red pendant made of painted dried dough from central Europe in my costume jewellery box in Singapore. I think the pendant was from the Croatia stand at the World Travel Market in London. A year later I discovered nothing but a red string and a box of ants.

Little Boxes
I am also fond of saving pretty chocolate boxes. I like the pretty decorative box, with the ribbons, the patterned paper, the gleaming gold paint. Open it and my eyes light at the sight of the handy dividers. I love the cute compartments. One could use them for storing ear-rings, pencils, whatever I might want to store for later.

Unfortunately, I just had to throw out the cardboard box which once held dates. It had acquired black dots of mould or droppings. The box is ruined, nasty to handle. If I kept it, in future I would be afraid to open it. What might I find?

I managed to salvage the see-through plastic compartment inside. I spent some time washing it out. Then I dried it. I shall watch it for a while. Suspiciously. Is something still breeding?

Tips
When handling clothes and foods which stain, wear gloves and a waterproof apron - or a cotton one which you want to look like an abstract painting.
a) Brown from coffee, tea, tights.
b) Pink, purple or red from red hand wash only clothes. Beetroot. Raspberries. Red currants. If you don't want to use leftover fruit, maybe the wash from what leaked into the box.
c) Black from newspaper print.
d) Dried out felt tip pens.
e) Yellow from stamens - watch out - terrible stains.

http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/how-to/Contemporary/1712/how-to-paint-with-coffee

http://www.artistsandillustrators.co.uk/competitions/Unknown/1719/win-a-painting-holiday-in-italy?

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel photographer and writer, author, illustrator, speaker. Please like, follow and share my posts and blogs.