Hampshire artist paints Harry Potter scenes on teabags

An artist who has painted scenes from fantasy books on used teabags said she does it to turn something that is typically discarded into “something beautiful”.

Caroline West, 50, from Waterlooville, Hampshire, has been painting on used tea bags since August 2023.

She has now created a limited edition collection of art depicting iconic characters, places and moments from Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

“I’m an avid reader and I’m so inspired by how a storyteller can weave an entire world into a book,” Mrs West said.

“I just wanted to see if I could capture that feeling in miniature, on a teabag.”

For the Harry Potter series, Mrs West created seven painted teabags which feature memorable aspects from the J K Rowling fantasy book series, including the Hogwarts Express, the Sorting Hat and Hogwarts.

Her Lord of the Rings teabags – of which there are also seven – show Gollum, the eye of a dragon and silhouettes of characters from the fantasy series walking up a mountain.

She said it took several hours to create each teabag.

She began by drying the teabags out, then cut them up, removed the tea and ironed them flat.

The edges were then taped, the tea bags were placed on backing paper, a base layer was applied and then she used acrylic paint to create the different scenes.

Her Harry Potter teabags are for sale, whilst her The Lord of the Rings collection has already been sold.

“The most satisfying part about being an artist is creating something that brings someone else joy and is something that they love,” she said.

“I think people are amazed with the art being on a teabag. I think it just really captures people’s imagination.”