Warren Artist Lines Coffee Depot with Cup Art

The theme behind Warren resident Mark Wholey's exhibit couldn't be more fitting for Coffee Depot. That's right, each piece of Wholey's exhibit features artwork of coffee cups.

"I wanted to line Coffee Depot with coffee cups," Wholey said. "They told me I could install as many pieces of work as I could make."

Wholey had just seven months to complete the pieces for his exhibit, which he says was a lot less time than he thought he would have. In total, Wholey's exhibit is made up of 21 mixed-media creations. The walls of Coffee Depot are lined with colorful paintings of coffee cups, hand made clay cups, three dimensional work and a photograph. 

"The whole process has been very delightful and it's very synergistic to have it featured at the Coffee Depot," Wholey said. "Cups are an icon. They always have been in my life. I really just wanted to stay with one theme and see where I could take it."

But Wholey notes that he has always had the trouble of portraying a certain style of artwork, claiming that no two paintings are alike.

"When I do a piece, I gravitate to another piece," Wholey said. "They are never the same. I think each one of my works is like a child- not one of them will come out the same way."

According to Wholey, one painting depicting the night's sky with a constellation lined out as a coffee cup has been very popular. But trying to pick out his own favorite piece of work seems nearly impossible.

"It was fun making the cups," he said about a three dimensional piece. But just as he's about to settle on one piece of work, he jumped to the next one and the next one.

One of his favorites, "Good Lick" (Once Upon a Time) began as a coffee mug on a checkerboard table cloth and the background started as a window, but the painting finished as a coffee mug, a piece of pie, and a pack of smokes on a diner table with a busty waitress in the background.

"The mug recalled hanging out with friends at a diner outside Boston," Wholey said. "Smoking was OK then. You could eat a piece of pie served by an attractive waitress and my fertile imagination would fall in love by the time she asked if I wanted a refill."

See Wholey's pieces for yourself at the Coffee Depot from now through April 30.