Artists Angel Sarkela-Saur and Andrew Saur recently painted, George Costanza, the neurotic character from their favorite TV show, “Seinfeld,” holding up a mug of coffee and probably conversing about the Bubble Boy, the
Close-talker or the infamous Soup Nazi. Or he might just be discussing these two creative Duluth residents, whose nickname fits nicely on that list: the Coffee Artists ...pioneers of a
new art medium, painting with coffee.

Yes, it may sound like an idea straight out of the mind of Cosmo Kramer, but it¹s proving to be a hit. Sold-out exhibitions and worldwide publicity
have led the Coffee Artists to trademark their Seinfeldesque moniker.

They¹ve also trademarked the phrase "Coffee Art," the name of their Website, which showcases nearly 200 of their works.

Angel and Andrew got their idea in 2000, after booking their first art show in Beaner¹s Central, a Duluth coffee shop. The couple decided to
experiment with using coffee instead of traditional paint.

"Our first coffee art was pretty sad," Angel admits. Through trial and error, it eventually started coming together."

Indeed. The Coffee Artists sold every painting at their first show. Since then, Angel and Andrew¹s works have been hung around the world. Their upcoming tour schedule includes shows in Iceland, Norway and the closer-to-home Vanilla Bean Bakery and Café in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

To make coffee into paint, they simply brew a dark, thick pot ­ at least that¹s the short version of the process. The color is adjusted by adding
more water for lighter brown hues.

"It has it¹s own challenges, working with one color all the time." Angel says.

"But it simplifies it, too," Andrew adds. ³The paintings have a really unique quality."

"You get so much richness out of the coffee," Angel says.

The couple keep secret the recipe for perfect coffee-paint, but they do have one tip: "You definitely don¹t want to drink it," Angel says. "It¹s not good."

When art isn¹t involved, Angel maintains that she brews drinkable coffee, which she enjoys. Andrew will only drink coffee diluted with
enough condiments to render it barely coffee-like.

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