A collage using plastic from the beach

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the plastic that we collected from the beach in Mauritius. I brought back a bag full of pieces of plastic, most of them measuring less than 1cm across. There were a few different colours, but the majority of them were blue, green and white, so I decided to use some of them to make a collage which is the same colours as the sea by which they were found.

For the background I used a small canvas 5" x 7" (currently three for £5 in The Works). I painted it with acrylic paints in a variety of different blues, slightly darker at the bottom and lighter at the top. Then when it was dry I stuck down the plastic pieces.

I wasn't sure of the best way to glue them, so I just painted a thick layer of PVA glue onto the canvas and placed them down, having planned out parts of the arrangement on a spare canvas beforehand. I began by placing the larger pieces then filled in with the smaller ones, using tweezers. I had quite a few long thin pieces which I arranged horizontally. I tried to mix up the different shades and textures and include the most interestingly shaped pieces.

I was inspired to do this by various plastic artworks that I've seen online, particularly on Instagram. I'm planning to share some of my favourite accounts to follow soon. It's just a shame that this artwork has to exist at all. I've become much more conscious of rubbish on the beach lately. Luckily our local beaches aren't too bad, but I can usually find a few pieces to put in the bin when I'm by the sea. Hopefully this collage will remind me to be more conscious of the plastic that I'm using and throwing away.