Recycled artist creates paintings from household rubbish

This stunning portrait of the Mona Lisa has been created by an artist using everyday objects – such as buttons, plastic cutlery and TOYS.

Creative Jane Perkins, 51, made the intricate likeness of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece out of thousands of unwanted items.

She collects bags of recyclables from her neighbours and scours second hand shops for marbles, cutlery, beads, jewellery and shells.

Jane, of Kenton, near Exeter, Devon, uses the odds and ends to make portraits and recreate iconic images worth around £1,000 each.

Her version of the Mona Lisa, which features sea shells, plastic beads, buttons and toy dinosaurs, and is being sold at an art gallery in New York.

Jane, a former nurse, said: ”I use anything dainty and colourful that I can get my hands on. I love art with an element of fun.

”I start with an enlarged photograph of the person I want to depict, then go about attaching objects.

”I use cut up plant pot markers for the teeth, and plastic forks come in handy for giving the hair a textured, spiky look.

”The only materials I buy especially are the eye beads as they look very real and help capture emotion in the picture.”