Paintbrush portraits by Rebecca Szeto – in pictures

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Since 1999, San Francisco artist Rebecca Szeto has been working on Paintbrush Portraits, an ongoing series of figures created from old brushes. When she started she was working as a faux finisher, making new buildings and furniture look more ‘old world’. She started to collect paintbrushes to stop them being thrown away. ‘I’d amassed a lot of eco-guilt from the sheer number of materials I witnessed being thrown out,’ she says. And then inspiration struck: ‘I happened to see a ratty brush of mine that had a small speck of red paint on it, and it reminded me of Velázquez’s Infanta Margarita de Austria (1654).’ Szeto whittles down the brushes using a small knife and decorates them with oil paints.

Kathryn Bromwich

Sat 20 Dec 2014 18.00 EST Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 10.30 EDT

• THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER

  ‘This refers to Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665), but if you look closely there’s no earring here. It’s a commentary on what people overlook or underestimate.’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• DONA HOGARI

  ‘There was something feisty and tempestuous about this paintbrush that reminded me of Velázquez’s portrait of Doña Maria, Queen of Hungary (1630).’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• MENINA IV

  ‘This is based on Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656). It’s a favourite image of mine and reoccurs throughout the series.’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• MADONNA & CHILD

  ‘This was particularly relevant at the time I made this, as I was preparing for a show and heavily pregnant.’ Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

• INNOCENCE

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• HONOR

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• GRAND DAME

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• DARK HABITS

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• CONCUBINE

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• REFLECTIONS ON BEAUTY

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• MADONNA & CHILD

  pictured in the studio Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

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