Matcha Thieves

Green Matcha

Matcha is a serious business. It is surrounded with discussions about its quality, its complex preparation, its fascinating accessories like that bamboo whisk, and of course, the most wonderful wabi-sabi (侘び寂び) ceramics.

With that seriousness in mind, I desired a bit of humor for my painting. Plus, I wanted to go full green. This led to me combining the birds that fly through my street -rose-ringed parakeets-, matcha, and beautiful ceramics.

Everyone who has come across rose-ringed parakeets takes delight in their cheekiness. They must be intelligent birds because they look at you like; 'Humans should mind their own business, like we do ours'. In fact, they look a bit snooty.

However, when it comes to drinking matcha, they are puzzled. 'What is that green liquid that is exactly the colour of our plumage?' My rose-ringed parakeets are on a mission to find out, only to mischievously knock over a cup so they can take a sip.

How I painted 

I always start with a few sketches in my sketchbook. Then, I lay out my final sketch on my Arches drawing pad. In graphite, I work out the whole painting, leaving no square centimeter unprepared.

For the first layer of colour, I have used Derwent Watercolour pencils. For later layers, I have added Van Gogh water-paints. For extra shine: Gold and Bronze water paints of Winsor & Newton. Also, Pearl Yellow No 740, Pearl May Green No 751, and for the beaks: Pearl Pink and Scarlet Red (No. 731-734). And for the male -who is more blue than the female- Pearl Cobalt Blue No 762.

This brings me to the difference between the male and female. The male has more bluish tail feathers and a beautiful dark and pink neck ring. He is awesome and more fun to paint. But as a woman, I completely understand that women in nature use more camouflage colours and do not like to stand out. 'Better safe than sorry', screams their plumage.

Small prints

I have printed small art cards with the text of my daughter (who's a writer) on its backside, as well as a small QRC referring to where they are for sale. For those who love details, inside the QRC one can spot two love birds who are as deliciously green as the parakeets. In nature the rose-ring parakeets are twice as tall as those affectionate love birds.

P.S. I drank a cup of matcha whilst painting. As the cup with cleaning water turned greener due to painting the birds, I needed to be mindful about putting my matcha on my left side and my cleaning water on the right side of my working station. That was only 90% helpful....  

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Artist living & working in Utrecht, Netherlands