Artists’ Brushes from Locally Obtainable Materials

Abstract

This project aims at equipping art students, with the knowledge and skills to produce their own artists' brushes. Hairs from local animals were experimented with. Others were fibres from plant and synthetic origin. These were sterilized, sorted and set for the hairs to hold and control colour flow. The hairs were boiled in water to remove any oily substances from them while the plant fibre was subjected to a retting process to soften the tissues. The fibre was beaten and combed to remove the remaining tissues Handles were prepared from wooden scraps and metal ferrules of different shapes and sizes were constructed from metal scraps to hold the hairs firmly The hairs were glued together while the ferrules were sealed and secured. Ten artists' brushes were produced and tested with oils and water-base paints. The results have proved successful in terms of colour flow.