The Artist's Way With Caffeine
Sasha Gordon, Catherine Mulligan, Emmie America and more make me worried for their resting heart rate
Gun to my head, I’d guess the resting heart rate of most artists is close to that of a chipmunk. Almost every painter I’ve known has consumed caffeine with the vigor and enthusiasm (time of day, notwithstanding) of an endurance athlete. Or narcoleptic.
To test my theory, I asked some of my favorite artists about their daily use.
SRIJON CHOWDHURRY
“My caffeine routine is pretty consistent: I daytrade in the morning, so I start around 6:30 am (I'm on the west coast) with Liquid IV Energy mixed with creatine and then I have a shot of espresso (Lavazza Gran Espresso), which carries me through until about 9:30 am when I stop trading. Then, I have another shot of espresso and paint until noon. After that, it’s one more espresso before I daytrade again until the market closes at 1 pm.”
“It’s one more espresso before I daytrade again until the market closes at 1 pm.”
“Finally, I have some watermelon-flavored pre-workout caffeine powder and paint until around 5 pm—or until I have to pick up my kids from school if my wife can't. And maybe I will have a couple more espressos thrown in to that 12-5pm-ish time, but I try not to have anything after 3pm or I cant sleep, but sometimes I have to.”
SASHA GORDON
“I mostly drink Ito En green tea or iced matcha lattes. I’m very sensitive to caffeine, if I have coffee I feel like I’m having an adderall crash, but I love the taste of coffee so every now and then I’ll partake.”
“I usually have an iced matcha in the morning to wake me up, I’m obsessed with the grassy flavor. It’s a nice routine having to whisk the matcha and pouring it into a cute glass. It’s the first thing I think about when I start my day. I’ll stop by an Asian grocery store or bodega and stock up on a bunch of Ito Ens, those are my studio beverage.”
“I like having a variety of drinks when I’m working, it gives me a lot of dopamine. It’s something to look forward to, and when I’m taking a break it’s a nice way to wind down.”
EMMIE AMERICA
“My go-to is a matcha latte with oat milk and some vanilla. I went to a really academic high school where we would get very few hours of sleep per night, so at the time I would drink 5-6 cups of coffee a day just to stay awake. Since then I have a love-hate relationship with coffee.”
“In the mornings I usually drink strong black tea without milk to wake up if I am home and matcha latte if I'm out or on the go. That might extend to a few cups a day if I'm running around meetings or am on set.”
KAY KASPARHAUSER
“I cycle my caffeine based on my infradian cycle. I used to have crazy PMDD, like I was prescribed antipsychotics that I’d only take for one week while I was PMSing because I would go bonkers. I don’t do that any more, now I just do a lot of infradian cycle stuff and one of them is that I don’t ( I try not to) drink any caffeine the week before and during my period, I am not great at it though because I love caffeine. It’s nice because it also means that when I do drink caffeine it really does its job and I never build too much of a tolerance.”
“When I am drinking caffeine I like to drink coffee (seasonally determined temperature) with non-dairy milk. My ex-husband really hated the smell of coffee, and drank Monster energy instead. I still love Monster, in moderation. White Monster (Monster Energy Zero Ultra) is my favorite, it’s not too sweet and not too syrupy, it gets a bad rap but it’s got lots of B vitamins and for a long drive, or a long work shift, or a pre-game (I don’t drink) there is really nothing like it.”
“I like to get a shot of espresso after because it makes me feel like my dad.”
“My favorite thing to do is get a Honeydew slush from the place (you know which one), drink half, and then fill it back up with White Monster. It’s the perfect summer drink. I have a big Monster sticker on my car, and people bring me White Monsters a lot, which I am grateful for.”
“If I go out for dinner, I like to get a shot of espresso after because it makes me feel like my dad.”
(Kay Kasparhauser on substack!)
“Right when I get up, the first thing I do is put on the kettle and I make a full French press and I have a tall mug that my grandma gave me that takes half the French press, so I’ll put ice cubes in and I’ll chug it while taking all of my pills. Then if there’s coffee left over from the last evenings press, I’ll drink that at room temp as a base and with a piece of toast to absorb all of the acid and then I’ll have a nicotine lozenge and get in the shower and brush my teeth and then when I’m out of the shower, I will have the second half of the press and I’ll do some journaling and then I’ll start work.”
“It’s like a bottomless pit of like dopamine pursuit.”
“I’ll usually feel like shit so I have to have more coffee or some other supplement and this is reoccurring every day. It’s like a bottomless pit of like dopamine pursuit, then I work and usually by three or lunch or whenever I’m in the kitchen again I’ll have another bit maybe like the last remnants from the French press of the morning and I’ll make another one that will carry me on through dinner.
I also use a gum called Nero gum that has caffeine in it and lathianiun or whatever so I’ll have that and then nicotine lozenges 2 mg.”
CATHERINE MULLIGAN
“I usually wake up and drink coffee for several hours. I’ll make a pour-over enough to fill a 35oz thermos. That will typically be enough for the day.
I’m both physically and psychologically dependent on coffee. Drinking coffee signifies that I haven’t checked out yet, I’m mustering up a sense of purpose, that it’s worth remaining conscious and alert for at least the next bit of time. When I’ve had to go without caffeine, I went through an intense withdrawal and felt listless and unfocused.”
“I’m both physically and psychologically dependent on coffee.”
“As someone with an anxiety disorder, I’ve wondered if maybe the coffee exacerbates my symptoms. But then I think, maybe I do like anxiety, maybe it’s the anxiety that’s really telling me the truth about things. Maybe I could quit coffee and be calm and stable and have a normal resting heart rate, but how would I handle this void? I’d have to reconceptualize my identity and it’s far too late for that. So the habit continues.”
The next newsletter will be about Instagram explore pages, I think. If you feel moved by that, DM me a screenshot of yours.
Ciao
i love this!! and what art!
Liking this because it answered a question I had, but ... yikes