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Dazzling Ocean Stones Meticulously Covered in Colorful Tiny Dots

Through her vibrant artwork, Canada-based creative Elspeth McLean aims to connect people to their inner child. One way she does this is through small ocean stones that were found on beaches in New Zealand. They are painted in beautiful, bright colors that feature a series of dots decoratively arranged along the surface. McLean's designs vary in scheme and pattern, but they always delight in an almost-hypnotic way. It's easy to get lost when looking at all of the intricate details.

McLean uses a tiny brush and acrylic paint to create these pieces. She'll apply multiple layers of paint – sometimes as many as six applications – so that her dots retain their shape and produce a slightly three-dimensional effect. This meticulous process is what helps to make her pieces so eye-catching.

McLean writes about her work, “Painting is my way to find my ‘happy place' and color is a way to express and celebrate the colors of my soul.” She's influenced by nature, animals, the changing seasons, and her world travels with a musician husband. “Looking at my art from over the years it is very evident that my art becomes like a storybook into my life- where I was, what I was doing, what inspired and interested me at that time.” What a lovely sentiment.

Elspeth McLean website and Etsy shop
via [Reddit]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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