British landmarks painted on teabags by Waterlooville artist

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.

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.

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.

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.