Paintbrushes are usually used for painting, but in this series by San Francisco artist Rebecca Szeto, they’re the canvas.
Szeto takes paintbrushes and carves and paints their ends into beautiful faces, with the worn painty bristles becoming the skirts of their gowns.
This ongoing series, which started in 1999, sees brushes given a new lease for life. Using “humble, end-of-life, mass-produced materials”, she transforms the paintbrushes into beautiful Renaissance-style women.
The series of ‘Paintbrush Portraits’ was inspired by Szeto‘s experiences as a faux finisher as well as Velázquez‘s 17th century painting, Las Meninas. Szeto comments, “These works play with notions of re-forming beauty and value”.
You can see more of Szeto‘s work on her website here: http://rebeccaszeto.com/paintbrush-portraits.