How to make your own Paintbrushes

Whilst there is a wonderful selection of paintbrushes that can be bought, you can’t beat homemade paintbrushes for fun, great mark-making and looking ‘cool’.  These homemade brushes can be made out of almost anything , but I prefer natural materials.

About two and a half million years ago during the Paleolithic Period, humans were making art by recording their stories on the walls of their caves.  The pigments they used were the local earth pigments and charcoal, and as well as using their hands to paint they used crude paintbrushes, quite possibly made  out of chewed twigs.  Later, in Ancient Egypt they made paintbrushes out of  macerated reeds, in East Asia feathers were often used, whilst in Europe and the Americas they used brushes made of animal hairs and bristles.

How to make a Twig Paintbrush

You can chew twigs from fibrous wood trees such as Beech, Elm or Oak and produce a crude twig paintbrush similar to the ones used to create some of the early cave paintings.  Look for a straight, live, green, twig about six inches long.  About two inches from the end of the twig, cut a groove around the twig and then scrape away the bark down to the end, exposing the sapwood.

Now you can begin to slowly chew the exposed end  - slowly and gently at first, rotating it at the same time as you chew.  Once your twig is nicely macerated and the fibres are soft and pliant, you can separate the fibres into consistently sized strands.  And there you have your very own primitive twig paintbrush.

How to make Bundle Brushes

Bundle brushes are made by tying together bunches of any type of plant material, such as pine needles, strong grass, thin green plant stems, poppy seed heads, or even the top of your Christmas tree (as long as you have a real one!), anything in fact that you think might make an interesting mark or effect when dipped in paint or ink.

Once you have collected a small handful of your chosen plant material, all you need to do then is to arrange the bundle around a strong twig.  Arrange it so that you have about an inch of the bundle surrounding the end of your twig with another inch or so extending out from the end to form the brush.   Bind the bundle around the twig firmly with twine or thread, (you could even use an elastic band if you are happy with something a little less permanent), and there you have your bundle brush.  You could even decorate your brush, making it a work of art in itself!

Caring for your home made brushes

After use, these brushes should be carefully washed in water, just as you would any other paintbrush, and once completely dry they can be kept supple with natural mineral oil.

Have fun making your own brushes and seeing what effects you can create by using different natural materials.

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