One more cup of coffee for the road

13 Mar 2026 by AK Krajewska

In November, I painted my cappuccino for the first time. The cup and saucer were so graceful. The light was good. I liked how it came out, and more importantly, I enjoyed painting it. I got out for coffee every Saturday, and painting my coffee became part of the habit. One coffee painting a week for a few months and it starts to look like a series. Heck, maybe I've become a regular: that person who paints their coffee each Saturday. Hard to say for sure.

To make the pattern visible, I've organized my watercolor sketches by the type of coffee cup I painted. I also included the swatches and fast sketches. Sometimes the miniature sketches have more of the feeling of the cup than the full sketches. Even when it's the same coffee cup in the same cafe in the same seat, the light is always a little different, the paint mix is a little different, and I'm a little bit different. I enjoy seeing the variations emerge. With each painting, I learn a little bit more.

All of these pieces are watercolor paint on paper.

Orange coffee cups #

A watercolor painting of a cappuccino cup in sepia tones with heart shaped latte art.

November 2025. A cappuccino with heart-shaped latte art in sepia-toned coffee cup on a saucer.

A watercolor painting of a bright orange coffee cup with flower-shaped latte art.

November 2025. A cappuccino with flower-shaped latte art in an orange coffee cup on a saucer.

A watercolor painting of a cup of cappuccino with a flower and heart as latte art.

December 2025. A cappuccino with flower-shaped latte art in an dull orange coffee cup on a saucer

Watercolor painting of a cappuccino in an orange cup with matching saucer. It’s in a loose sketchy style, capturing the general shape and color without fuss about precision.

December 2025. A cappuccino with flower-shaped latte art in a bright orange coffee cup on a saucer

Practice sketches for orange coffee cups #

A watercolor painting of the just the latte art on a coffee, shaped like a lower with a heart.

2025. Practice sketch for just the latte art.

A rough outline watercolor sketch of a coffee cup with latte art

December 2025. Warmup sketches for coffee cups and latte art.

Black coffee cups #

A watercolor painting of a black coffee cup on an orange saucer with an indication of latte art.

December 2025. A black coffee cup.

A watercolor painting of a black coffee cup on an orange saucer with heart-shaped latte art.

December 2025. Another version of a black coffee cup on an orange saucer.

A watercolor painting of a black coffee cup on an orange saucer with flower latte art.

February 2026. A black coffee cup on an orange saucer with a flat white.

Two different line drawing watercolor sketches for coffee cups practicing for the black coffee cup and red saucer paintings

December 2025. Sketches for a black coffee cup painting.

No blood for oil #

Watercolor sketch of a cup of coffee with words over the latte art “No blood for oil!”

January 2026. Caption for the image.

Various watercolor test swatches of coffee cups and the words

January 2026. Practice sketches and swatches for "No blood for oil."

Coffee and croissant #

A watercolor painting of a croissant on a blue plate next to a coffee in an orange cup and saucer.

February 2026. Croissant as well as coffee.

Speckled coffee cups #

A watercolor painting of a coffee cup with a speckled glaze. The painting is somewhat elaborate and slightly overworked.

March 2026. First version of the speckled coffee mug.

A watercolor painting of a coffee cup with a speckled glaze. The painting is simple with whitespace preserved in place of the beverage.

March 2026. Second version of the speckled coffee mug.