paintbrush portraits

Today, in so-brilliant-we-don't-know-why-we-didn't-think-of-it-first ideas: Instead of tossing old, used paintbrushes into the drawer to go dry, flaky and ultimately unusable, Rebecca Szeto repurposes her art tools by carving them into masterpieces in their own right.

When her brushes are nearing the end of their life, the San Franciscan artist takes to them with a knife - but not in a savage, splinter-filled frenzy. Instead, Rebecca uses the blade to whittle, a therapeutic process that transforms their wooden handles into the profiles of Renaissance ladies and other historical art dames. Not a bad way to honour your tools, huh? Have a squiz at more of Rebecca's paintbrush portraits here.