Newest Artwork: Twirl and Loop

"Twirl and Loop" is the mixed media artwork on tea-stained paper using the wonderful and fragrant teas provided by Alcheme of Tea. They are acting as selling the artwork along with a few other tea paintings at their next event in Las Vegas.

Below are the images from the process of creating this work.


First I went through the tea samples I was sent and made swatches to determine how the stains would look. The tea varieties I had to work with included lavender latte, orange appeal, and daily detox.


I ended up selecting the orange tea for the cream-toned background- the extra fruits also gave little bits of color and darker texture throughout. For a larger tea-stained paper, I had to use a large plastic container with a liner to get the paper flat and covered with hot tea...


After staining the paper the preliminary drawing begins. I will use the 'daily detox' tea (which makes a darker greenish brown stain) to push the background further behind the foreground elements, and pull them forward with ink linework and white highlights.  


Inking begins! This is all done with a very teeny tiny brush and Sumi ink. In the image below you can see the second layer of darker tea stain as well...


White highlights are added to the fish (in acrylic) to pull them forward. This makes a big difference!


The final image- "Twirl and Loop" 16x20 inches tea, ink, acrylic on paper mounted to birch, with 23k goldleaf edges. 


Here are some additional detail shots and a pic of the sides where the gilding is visible.



If you are interested in this original you can purchase it by contacting Alcheme of Tea. 

Prints will be available soon, follow my Facebook or Instagram accounts for more details. 


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