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Artist paints British landmarks on teabags

PA Media Caroline West - who has long, wavy grey and brown hair smiles at the camera - is holding a binder which is open to a page of painted teabags. Behind her is a desk with paintbrushes onPA Media
Caroline West has decorated about 70 teabags so far

An artist has given used teabags "another lease of life" by painting famous British landmarks on them.

Caroline West, 49, from Waterlooville in Hampshire, began using the unique medium to promote sustainability.

Locations she has featured include Stonehenge in Wiltshire, Tower Bridge in London and the Yorkshire Dales.

Depending on the level of detail, each creation takes about 90 minutes.

PA Media Two flattened teabags - one has Durdle Door with grey rocks, golden sand and bright, blue sea painted on it, while the other has the Spinnaker Tower in silhouette with a purple and orange sky reflected in the water painted on itPA Media
Durdle Door in Dorset (left) and the Spinnaker Tower in Hampshire (right) have featured on the teabags

Ms West said she liked the idea of turning "something mundane into something beautiful".

The process begins by drying out used teabags - which can take a few days - cutting them up, scraping out all of the tea and ironing them flat.

The edges are then cut off, the teabag is placed on backing paper, a base layer is applied and then the art can begin, using acrylic paint.

"It's quite a process because you've got to wait for that to fully dry, because the teabags are quite absorbent," she said.

PA Media Stonehenge painted on a teabag. The sun is shining - bright yellow - through the stone circle in front which is in dark silhouette with green grass in the foregroundPA Media
Stonehenge in Wiltshire has been her favourite landmark to paint
PA Media Two teabags - one with a paintings of Salturn Pier in pastel colours and the other with an image of a lone tree at nightfall on Yorkshire Dales, with stars on a navy skyPA Media
The artist started a Yorkshire-based series in honour of the Yorkshire Tea brand

Yorkshire Tea bags have been a popular choice for the miniature works of art - something Mrs West gets from her mother, as she is more a fan of herbal tea.

In April, the artist started a Yorkshire-based series in honour of the brand.

The paintings included Saltburn Pier, Scarborough Castle, Humber Bridge and the Yorkshire Dales.

"I just thought it would be really nice and British to have British landmarks on British teabags," she said.

PA Media Ms West sitting at a desk holding a paintbrush. She is looking down and the camera is behind and above her so we can only see the back and side of her head. In front of her is a teabag with a painting on it. On the desk is a cup and saucer, a pot for rinsing her paintbrush and a binder with painted teabags displayed in itPA Media
The artist has been painting on teabags for almost a year

Ms West has also found a way to incorporate herbal teabags in her work.

She said they provided different pops of colour compared to their regular counterpart.

"My husband drinks fruit teas so that has a really nice pinky tone and I drink chamomile, so that produces a yellow tone," she said.

"I also quite enjoy the intricacy because I do like painting small; I just think there's something magical about having a really small painting."

Mrs West posts her work on social media which she said received a lot of positive feedback.

PA Media Two teabags - one has Tower Bridge painted on it, whilst the other has Glastonbury Tor on it. Both are in silhouette. Tower Bridge has a golden sky, reflected back in the water below, and Glastonbury Tor stands in front of a golden moon and deep blue sky.PA Media
Tower Bridge in London (left) and Glastonbury Tor (right) in Somerset feature in her work

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