A Portfolio of Bean-Based Artworks by Betsi Shelffo
Betsi Shelffo is an artist who began experimenting with drawing and painting in her childhood, and later became enamoured with an unusual medium: coffee beans. In her current practice, Betsi creates bean-based artworks in a high-contrast, graphic style.
Betsi’s current practice focuses mostly on portraiture -- the artist’s portfolio is organized by portrait category. The artist often produces portraits of pop-culture figures, including musicians, actors, and athletes. The high-contrast style that the coffee bean medium affords is well-suited to these stylized portraits, and the artist does a great job of creating images that are instantly recognizable by subject, but draw the viewer in by their unconventional nature. I wonder if these portraits smell like coffee!
Aside from producing pop-culture portraits, the artist also creates custom portraits -- it’s neat to be able to see how adept Betsi has become with her chosen medium, building up images of everyday subjects in the same bright, graphic style.
