2.4 Drawings with tea bags 

Simple study tests

Teabag

Positive: 

  • The teabag was saturated. I applied it to the wet paper. It leaves the most gorgeous burnt sienna watercolour effect. 
  • The colour is plentiful. 
  • The teabag is a large implement, so the strokes of colour are large and thick. 
  • Easy to apply and covers a large area very quickly. 

Negative:

  • The teabag is so saturated that it does leave pools of water on the paper. A thick, watercolour paper would be needed to create a successful result. 
  • After three strokes, the bag wore away and the tea leaves start to appear on the page. Limited opportunity. 

Stone: 

Positive:

  • It leaves a solid and interesting texture. 
  • I can control the amount of colour as the stone doesn't absorb it. The colour remains easily on the surface. 

Negative: 

  • Difficult to hold for long. Limited opportunity. 
  • The surface is so uneven and unpredictable, it's impossible to know if you are going to get thin or thicker marks. 
Potato: 

Positive: 
  • A round, bubble mark. 
  • Consistently the same shape. 
  • Easy to apply. 
  • The moisture within, waters down the colour therefore the colour goes along way. 
Negative: 
  • Starts to leave a granulated effect on the page. 
String: 

Positive: 
  • Leaves an interesting mark when rolled onto the page. 
  • A fine line. 
  • A texture effect. 
Negative: 
  • The mark covers a very small area. 
  • Rolled  means a messy application. 
Stick: 

Positive: 
  • A fine line. 
  • Controlled, much like a pencil. 
  • Different sticks can leave lines of various thickness. 
Negative:
  • The stick needs a lot of colour and frequent top ups of colour. 
Toothbrush: 

Positive: 

Can be used in two different ways, applying the bristles straight onto the page, dragging the brush downwards to create water type marks and also by flicking the colour to create splashes of colour. 

Negative: 

The flicking goes along way, unpredictable and difficult to control. 

Etching:

Positive: 
Realistic textures. The unearthing of marks you didn't realise were even there. A world of opportunity, everything has a surface that could be captured. 

Negative: 
You need a thicker paper to handle the rougher areas, paper easily torn. 


Sliced courgette: 

Positive:
Easily sourced. Cheap and resourceful. Clear, perfectly rounded marks. Clear in the middle, just like bubbles. 

Negative: Yet to find one. 


Potato slice: 

Positive: 
Unique shaped marks. Cheap and resourceful. 

Negative: 
Leaves a residue on the paper. Rough edges to the shape. Blurred edges. 


As I look on my test sheet, I can see the teabag has covered the largest area and left the most beautiful colour. I will take the teabag forward and draw a simple illustration. 

As the marks that appeared on the test sheet started to look like a landscape, I went again  with the teabag to draw a simple London city scene of Big Ben. 


Reflection

A new and interesting exercise.

Working with a tea bag is a completely new experience and one that surprised me. The colour was as easy to apply and as vibrant as a watercolour. The colour is a match to Burnt Sienna of a watercolour palette. 

With little control of the tea bag, as it leaves such big marks, I was pleased to keep my illustration simple. However I'm sure the colour from the bag could be drained and brushes used for more detailed application. 

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