Well-known Cypriot artist Maria Aristidou, originally from Larnaca and now living in Liverpool, has once again managed to attract the attention of the world, this time because of her amazing paintings created with coffee!
“I use (watercolor painting) paper and around five different coffee blends,” she wrote in a blog post about her art.
“I’m a great fan of coffee and I always have coffee with me,” the 27-year-old said.
“Since I always carry brushes or some sort of art kit on me too, the two just came together by chance.”
Creative Maria, who has painted characters ranging from the likes of Star Wars, Disney and even the Queen, came up with the idea for her unique painting style last year.
Working on a piece in a patisserie in Cyprus, the artist accidentally spilled coffee over her work.
Rather than letting it ruin her piece, she was intrigued by the effect the drink had on the paper. “The accidental spill, the shade of coffee, and how it got absorbed in the paper fascinated me,” she said.
The self-confessed caffeine addict decided it could act as the perfect medium for her to use as an artist – “With coffee, I can express who I really am. I simply go crazy and wild about it. It is okay to be messy with it!”
“The Greek word for coffee is ‘kafe’ and for the colour brown is also ‘kafe’,” she added.
“So some people can be confused as to whether my works are coffee or just plain brown colour.”
Each portrait takes Maria up to two days to create and she plans to continue painting pop culture characters and famous people.
“In general people like the idea and get fascinated by how the coffee has been used,” she adds.
“The most frequent question I get is whether its smell good – and yes, it does.”