I was over 40 years old when l could say l actually enjoyed the taste of coffee. Coffee was never appealing to me. Even my husband Michael owes his foray into caffeine to several dedicated school secretaries. Unaware he’d never had a cup in his life, they kept bringing him coffee and he was too polite to say he wasn’t a fan. This was revealed to me in the late 80’s when he first asked me to buy instant coffee at the Co-op in Middle Musquodoboit. l was stunned and still not convinced to drink it very often myself.

My own great passion began in the early years of this 21st century when l found myself working at The Tourist Trap. The magic? Fair trade, organic coffee. Freshly ground and freshly brewed with the addition of a little half and half cream. I’ve been incensed with it ever since. Nowadays there is a cup or two in every scenario…

Any one who as ever watched me paint has either laughed or been a little disturbed to catch me accidentally dunking my brushes in my coffee and nearly drinking my brush water. A week or so ago when, once again, l saw that my large sopping brush was full of coffee..l went for it.

I created a bunch of quick loose paintings with coffee and for a bit more definition, a bit of watercolor pencil. The resulting monochromatic impressions really appealed to me. Rich sepia, dark chestnut browns and the texture of the grounds. Much fun, mucking about!

When, tongue in cheek, l posted them on Facebook, l ended up with orders. I’m not certain how archival coffee might be on watercolor paper so l opted to make some prints. ( Most simply, with my limited printing experience, l had them scanned and printed at Staples, ) An area in which l need further education. (..and maybe a computer , a scanner and a printer to cut out the middle man. )

l am just warming to the idea of making prints of my work. My first impulse would always have been to do limited prints of the pieces l like. However if experience has taught me anything it is that l am the worst judge of my own work. It’s one way to have on-hand product while l’m raising funds for framing the originals. It could be fun to turn them into notecards. ( or does that smack of kitsch, cutsieness and crass commercialism? )

l’m having so much fun. This is the first time in my whole life l have just explored creativity for its own sake. Freedom!!..lm not working on commissions. My best work has always sprung from play so l will play on.❤️