3D layered watercolour painting - Sea Turtle

I'm linking this post up to WOYWW, although this time I don't have any photos of my workdesk. Evening crept up on me and my camera is not too keen on functioning in the dark!

Popping up frequently on my Pinterest feed are some beautiful examples of paper cutting which I've been safely tucking away on my pin boards ready for a flash of creative inspiration to strike. Well, strike it did at the beginning of the week and I came up with this. An 3.5" x 2.5" miniature layered 3D watercolour painting.

To give you an idea of how small (and fiddly!) it is, here's a photo of me holding it.

My main inspiration for incorporating watercolour into a 3D paper cut design came from KateCreates, an artist who I've been following on Facebook for a while. Her wonderful Facebook page can be found here and her website here. She creates cheerful pieces featuring campervans, boats, quirky houses and portraits. Her work is layered which gives a lovely feeling of depth, especially in those featuring jumbled houses inspired by Cornish villages.

As for the subject matter, since spotting sea turtles on a snorkelling trip from Perhentian Kecil in the Perhentian Islands, Malyasia, I've had a little soft spot for them. Sadly, according to www.seeturtles.org, six of the seven species of these graceful creatures are threatened or endangered by human activity. They are incredible reptiles which spend the majority of their lives at sea, the females only coming ashore to lay their eggs every 2 to 5 years.

The beautiful Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia

I wanted to capture the grace and beauty of these animals and they way they interact with their environment. A quick browse on Google Images threw up many photographs of them swimming with fish around vibrant coral reefs. I combined several elements to create an original underwater scene.

I started by drawing out each layer, three in total. They were outlined in waterproof black ink, painted in watercolours and left to dry thoroughly before wedging them in a heavy book to flatten them. Then came the tricky bit, cutting out each layer with a craft knife. I began to regret choosing such wiggly corals for the foreground! An hour and a few hand cramps later, I had all the layers ready to assemble. They are stuck together with very small squares of adhesive foam tape, a couple of layers in the case of the turtle to bring it up to the right level.

 Et voilà! Now it is stuck on my wall alongside my other miniature creations :)

If you have enjoyed this post, please consider sharing using one of the buttons on the right-hand-side. I love to read your comments too! Some of my paintings are for sale in my Etsy shop if you fancy taking a look :)

Today I'm sharing this post here: WOYWW, Domesblissity, Lovely Ladies Linky, Pretty Things for You, Savvy Southern Style, Cornerstone Confessions, Paint Party Friday, Blue Chair Diary Illustrations, Handmade Harbour and Manon Popje's Illustrations.