Aruna Makeri, who paints under the name Aruna Harish, says it is time to wake up and see the coffee on the wall. The self-taught artist’s works in coffee painting cover a wide range of themes, including portraits and landscapes. Recently, the versatile artist painted a family portrait as a gift for a house-warming.
Aruna Harish’s coffee art
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A coffee lover, Aruna says she found coffee painting an amazing art. “I have been doing this since 2020. There has been a lot of interest in coffee painting. I do portraits of people, children, pets, and customised art using instant coffee.”
Versatile medium
Coffee, she says, is a versatile medium to work with and lends itself to different works. “Using instant coffee, I paint on watercolour paper and ceramic plates. Working with three shades of coffee gives each painting depth and aesthetics.”
Aruna Harish’s cityscape in coffee painting
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The shades of coffee colour are created using different quantities of water. Filter coffee is avoided as the sediments in the coffee might not give the desired finish to a painting.
A crafter and art teacher, Aruna has been teaching art for over 20 years. Part of several exhibitions in Kuwait, she used to conduct workshops in art, embroidery and crochet there.
She also did cityscapes of Kuwait that included iconic landmarks there. “It was much in demand as a souvenir and I used to do personalised pieces for clients. I plan to do such pieces on the cityscapes of Thiruvananthapuram and other cities in India.”
Aruna Harish’s coffee art
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
In 2019, Aruna started ‘Colors and Creation’, an online art business for handmade art, painting, crafts, and customised orders. “I do coffee, acrylic watercolor, ceramic plate painting, glass, bottle and wood painting, pyrography, and pebble art.”
A portrait using coffee, painted by Aruna Harish
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
By attending workshops led by artists in Kerala, she honed her innate talent in art. Pyrography, which is etching art on wood or wood panels with fire, by using an instrument, is an art she picked up in Kuwait. “The results are aesthetic and one can do all kinds of art works once you learn how to do it.”
Two years ago, Aruna settled in Thiruvananthapuram and offers online art classes and takes orders for customised works. She has an instagram account colorsandcreation
