What do you get if you mix together coffee, comics and creativity? Well, you get the incredible artwork of Spanish artist Juapi, who is creating waves amongst art and comic book fans (and coffee fans!) all over the world. Juapi makes uses coffee as his paint, and believe us, his work is seriously cool. From Friday the 17th to Saturday the 25th November (2017), we’ll be hosting a special Coffee Art - Original US Comics auction featuring the likes of Spider-man, Wolverine, Batman, Venom, Harley Quinn and many many more… all beautifully crafted in coffee form. You have to see it to believe it. Check out what Juapi had to say when we caught up with him recently and discover his awesome artwork here...
I want people to enjoy my art… not only through sight but also smell.
Starting with Coffee
It’s hard to believe, but Juan was not a coffee drinker before he began working in his coffee style - just 2 years ago he had no idea how to prepare this beverage, let alone paint with it! It all started in 2015, when Juapi - real name Juan Antonio - had an accident and broke his collarbone which left him incapacitated for 6 months. It was during the long days of resting at home, bored and looking for a way to pass the time, when Juapi started experimenting with his now-definitive coffee style. A similar style of work he saw online caught his eye, and curious, Juapi decided to investigate for himself. “The first drawing I did was of Edward Scissorhands. I liked the result so much and was so comfortable painting with coffee that in just 11 days I had drawn 10 more illustrations.” And he hasn’t looked back since...
The Process
Juapi’s work is exceptional. But his process is simple. He takes an image of the character or person he’d like to recreate, makes a sketch, and replicates it onto a special card for watercolour. Then? It’s coffee time! The coffee he uses is prepared weeks beforehand. He then carefully create his design, layer by layer.
If I paint realism, I build light to dark tones, but when I am working in the comic style, I prefer dark tones - as if the coffee is ink.
But Juapi’s process has adapted since he first started out. In his early coffee works, he mixed coffee with watercolour because he didn’t know how to get the dark tone he needed. Gradually he found that when the water mixed with the coffee evaporates, it leaves a dark paste which he can use to re-wet and paint with. And this has an added benefit: “With coffee, I paint the darker tones, but if I need to I can easily lift it with water, so I can paint without fear, because I know I can fix it later.” Bonus!
Selling at Catawiki
Juapi sells his artwork on Catawiki through the shopname of Corner4art, who he says have given him the security and confidence to plunge headlong into his dream. “I’m working, yes, but I'm still learning and improving every day. They have given me the opportunity to create and display my work around the world. I do not have to worry about anything - just to make things right, to enjoy my work and to make sure people enjoy my art... not only sight, but also smell.”
Special Auction
Juapi paints many different film and TV characters, but especially for this themed auction, he’s crafted a series of astonishing comic book character portraits. Does Juapi have a favourite of the series? “I worked a lot on this collection and the truth is that I like them all! But if I had to choose one, I'd say Harley Quinn because of the composition. The Joker is my favorite character though, and I also like the collection of the Avengers because together they makes an incredible work. Oh, and Yoda, of course... It’s hard to choose just one!” And we agree.
Decide which one is your favourite and if you’re lucky, win it at auction! The Coffee Art - Original US Comics auction runs from Friday 17th to Saturday 25th November (2017) and we can’t wait for you to check it out! Looking for more original comic artworks, comics books and US comics? Then quickly scroll over to our weekly comics auctions.
Did you know? You can easily sell your comic books and comic book art at our Comics auction. Simply register as a seller and start offering up your objects for auction.
Now, coffee anyone?