VERO BEACH – Vero Beach artist Robert Ottesen has created the world’s first serigraph using a repeatable printing process and coffee based ink. What began as a simple artistic statement led to several innovations that allowed an image of the Seattle Space Needle to be printed in a photo-realistic manner.
“I just wanted to make a simple artistic statement,” Ottesen said. “By printing with coffee, I wanted to show its importance to our daily lives. I had no idea when I started the project, how difficult it would be to create a photo-realistic image from coffee pigment alone.”
The print is already attracting attention from experts in the field.
“This is amazing. Rob has pushed the envelope and developed a new and creative print-making technique,” said Frank Romano, RIT Professor Emeritus and President of the Museum of Printing.
In order to print with coffee, Ottesen needed a coffee based ink. So he turned to Bob Peterson, a consultant with over 30 years of experience in the ink business. Peterson, after numerous attempts, was finally able to get coffee to mix with a special blend of printing oils.
“When Mr. Ottesen approached me and explained that he wanted to make an ink from coffee, I told him that it couldn’t be done,” said Peterson. “However, after listening to what he had planned to use the ink for, I decided to take on the challenge. Creating an ink from coffee grounds has never been attempted, to the best of my knowledge. It was extremely difficult to identify an ink varnish that would allow the coffee grounds to blend with the varnish. Additionally, the time and mechanical force required to blend the coffee with the varnish was 10 times more than that of a regular ink. The process definitely required ‘thinking outside the box!’”
Interested parties will soon be able to view a copy of this historic print at the Museum of Printing in North Andover, Mass.