A Cup of Joe and A Paintbrush
Sunshine Plata chanced upon seeing a 19th century signature displayed in the Ripley’s Museum in the Philippines, where the artist used coffee to inscribe his name. Inspired by its ingenuity, Sunshine held on to that demitasse of an idea only to brew her coffee painting break years later. This painter however, would rather paint with coffee than drink it… She’s a coffee painter junkie, but a tea drinker at heart. “I’m more of a tea addict actually,” Plata confesses. “I chose to paint with coffee because I wanted a medium that was unique and lasting. I’d always remember that coffee signature and I thought to myself, ‘If that person can sign his name in coffee which has lasted a hundred years, then maybe if I paint with it, it can withstand time as well.’ ”
She started her first experimental painting using coffee in the year 2000. A then-second-year Psychology college student at the University of Sto. Tomas (Asia’s oldest University), Plata created her first painting titled: “Ustedyante” (UST Student) which portrayed the facade of the University’s Main Building.
And no venti lattes for this 29-year old painter. She prefers good old instant coffee for her art works. “I’ve tried using both brewed and instant coffee but I’m more at ease using the instant ones because I can take it anywhere and paint without having to heat water… It dissolves easily in just plain tap water.” Plata simply adjusts the amount of coffee granules to achieve different shades of brown.
Fairies, fishes, butterflies, morph into their ethereal looking java forms in Plata’s work –even more charming than sepia-toned stills. “My vividly animated dreams are my usual inspirations. I dream while sleeping all the time, even while taking my naps. Upon waking up, I sketch the images I like then I transfer it on canvass. Sometimes I also get my subjects from images that spontaneously pop into my head while doodling. But now I’ve started to accept commissioned works from clients who suggest subjects they’d want me to paint and then I render them in my own style.”
In the past however, coffee paintings weren’t as welcomed in galleries as the more familiar oil-based paintings were. Coffee supposedly, wasn’t a legitimate medium. But it’s a little known fact how artists are somewhat rebels at heart and would rather push the envelope than curb their artistic freedom. Over the past three decades or so, artists have become more experimental, as seen in their unconventional use of space, scale and perspective. Renowned Filipino artist Fernando Zobel used a hypodermic syringe for some of his paintings, while emerging artists on the other hand would play with composition and would fuse painting with digital and installation art –with some paintings becoming more tangible by including fragments of real objects like wood and tile –art has absolutely become an infinite world of possibilities. Plata is living proof if this.
“We all know that in any success story there would be set-backs. This was true in my case. What kept me going was my desire to share my art with others. It didn’t matter much if my work didn’t get into galleries… I knew I could always find a venue where I could display my works and just exhibit them to a small group of people like family and close friends. All I ever wanted back then was to have one small exhibit even for just once in my entire life and see how it would feel like.”
In January 12, 2008, Plata had her first solo exhibit, entitled “LSD (Look, Smell, Discover) Trip by Caffeine” where she sold more than half of her paintings. Then the rest of the world took notice. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not even purchased two of her artworks and featured it in the Martha Stewart show.
Perhaps art goers get some pseudo-caffeine fix from Plata’s work but curiosities arise about its archival permanence. Comparing coffee to other common mediums is like comparing watercolor and oil –both are very aesthetic and tactile mediums and with proper care and maintenance, paintings should last a lifetime –coffee is simply an aromatic and economical form of brown watercolor so to speak. “It was just incidental that after a long time of painting with coffee, I came across research which claims that the staining ability of coffee can last for 75-100 years. There’s also a framing technique to be considered, which I learned in my 9 years of painting with coffee. My very first painting didn’t have any fixative on it but still looks exactly the same as when I first made it. Now that I sell my work, I put a fixative on them just to be safe and sure.”
Plata cannot tell if coffee will forever be her medium of choice. “Just like an old friend, I believe coffee painting will always be special since it’s how I got to be known worldwide. Who knows, maybe my coffee art will soon showcase new subjects and ideas. I’m also open to the fact that I may again stumble upon other queer media and start painting with it.”
>Written by d/visible contributor Romina Tobias.
