Indian elephant...

I love to pick up Christmas decorations on my travels... There is something so nice about unwrapping memories of warm sunny places while decorating my home in the dark, short days of December in Scotland.
This little picture came from India, and is handpainted on a dry Peepal (Ficus Religiosa) leaf. The leaves are soaked in water for a month or so to remove the outer layer of the leaf, then gently cleaned to remove the film that has been produced as a result. After that the leaf is dried and is then ready to be painted upon... a very delicate operation!