Wednesday 23 April 2014

Tea Bag Art.

This week for WOYWW  I am showing you a much cleaner desk than usual as my son has taken his Gcse art work to school leaving my desk empty and ready to be gradually messed up again.

This week I have been working on a painting on a tea bag. After drinking the tea when it has dried and minus the tea leaves you are left with a lovely stained bag. I attempted a tea bag painting once before and I opened it all the way up but this time I just removed the staples joining it to the string and emptied the leaves out and left the back still sealed up at the back.




I originally sketched her in graphite pencil with touches of Graphitone (water soluble graphite) to create darker areas. Her face and arms are painted in white gouache with a touch of white oil pastel and  her hair and dress in watercolour.

Afterwards I thought it would be good to add the string and tag back to the bag but I had already thrown the original one away so I replaced it with a handmade.


Something I was particularly happy with in this piece was something that it is not instantly noticeable about the shading used on her face and neck. Instead of using the usual flesh tones I just felt that an olive green would work. Especially with her white face.

In the past when I have tried to substitute natural skin tones with other colours it hasn't worked out very successfully.(Probably trying too hard.)  With this piece I just felt that the olive was the right choice and I think it works. It is very subtle but I know it's there.

For anyone who visited my desk last week and saw the beginnings of my last painting and are interested to see the finished piece you can see it here.

As always, sending a big THANK YOU to all of you who have been kind enough to leave such lovely comments, especially on my 'Moments of Happiness' post. Because of the meaning behind that painting it has become very precious to me and so have your touching comments. x

Linking this post to WOYWW.

23 comments:

  1. Oh, I love this!! I really want to try this technique :)
    Happy WOYWW!
    no. 2

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  2. Love your take on teabag art, Fuzzie. I haven't tried painting on them yet. So many lovely things to try! When I started exploring teabag art, I had no idea just how many different ways you could use them. I don't have any teabags with strings on them - mine are all square, with a few round ones thrown in, and I haven't bothered with the pyramid ones except to use them to make marks with as they dry.

    Yes, I've got a ready supply of teabags from the church tea ladies! I'm getting pretty swamped at the moment and need to start emptying some of them and putting them to use.

    Thanks for your visit and your nice comment. I am so thrlled with my new ARTHaven and cannot believe I've finally got it up and running and functioning as it was designed (by me!) to do - I was afraid at one time that it was going to end up just as a dumping ground, but now that we are well and truly settled in to our new home, things are falling into place and I am enjoying all its benefits. The trouble is, too many ideas and too little time and energy to bring them all to life!!

    Happy WOYWW,
    Shoshi #43

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  3. Wow, that's really cool! I've heard of painting on tea bags but have not got around to trying it myself. I do like yours though! Thanks for dropping by,
    RosA

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  4. applause for your great teabag artwork. Annette x

    http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

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  5. Ohhh wow this is gorgeous art. Now I will have to save all those teabags and give this a go. Stunning.
    Sandra @20

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  6. Sounds like fun - must have a go! Have a lovely week, Chris # 19 xx

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  7. Oh my gosh ..she is a natural beauty! AMAZING tea bag ART!..
    I adore Lynne Hoppe's faces on tea bags ... yours is more beautiful than her faces!

    wow!

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  8. Wonderful work. I have been hearing a lot about this tea bag art lately - aaargh, another thing to try! Thanks for sharing the lovely work on your desk, Happy WOYWW, Cindy #56

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  9. What a sweet idea ~ tea bag art!
    And this piece is charming. :)
    At home I drink loose tea, but I do, on occasion, have some tea-bag tea at the studio and I may just have to create with it, rather than my typical composting. THANKS for the inspiration!

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  10. your teabag painting turned out beautifully.... I am hugely impressed, I am already recognising your style through all your different mediums.

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  11. She is fabulous! I've never thought of working on a tea bag before. Art never ceases to amaze me :-D

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  12. This is lovely - the colours are vibrant but the whole effect is delicate too. You are obviously have fun & great quality time experimenting - well done you ! Ali #17

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  13. That is really clever and you get a cup of tea out of it too. What could be better? The face is wonderful and the olive is just perfect for the shading. I love the little handmade tea bag tag.
    Have a great week,
    Von #13

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  14. Very interesting technique. Love how she turned out.

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  15. this is wonderful! what a fabulous idea and such a beautiful finished product! isnt it a wonderful feeling when you go with your gut and it works out even better than you'd hoped! love it! now to check out that awesome painting from last week!

    hugs!

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  16. what a fab idea, a ready made background
    Gill xx #91

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  17. Hi Fuzzie
    happy WOYWW. Sorry I am running late.....but so glad I came. Your tea bag art is gorgeous indeed...well done and the green I didn't even notice till I read you had used it!!
    hugs
    Annette In Oz #8

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  18. Gorgeous technique, what a great idea. Happy crafting, Angela x 48

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  19. Just yesterday, I stopped and looked at my tea bag and wondered how it would work to paint on one. Now, I am going to have to give it a try! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving wonderful comments. They mean so much to me!

    The colours you used are so warm. You made a good choice using the olive. Well done!

    Renee

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  21. this is wonderful! i love working with tea bags. they are so versatile and add such a wonderful look to things.

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