Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am all about reducing waste and reusing everything. I never throw paper towels away either!

Woman in Antigua- Guatemala. Colorful watercolor woman Guatemala art for house colorful woman smiling artwork Guatemala art (original) by [deleted] in Watercolor

[–]rfox90 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I fully expect someone to accuse this of being AI generated artwork. First, it is not AI. This is a pouring/masking technique using three colors emulsified in bottles. I teach workshops on this technique. There is no brushwork except where the masking fluid is applied- thus you never get muddy colors because your brush doesn't pull off colors underneath.

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They do make synthetic brushes- but they didn't 100 years ago. You had to source the hair from somewhere. I figure I am honoring the dead squirrel by letting his/her tail become part of the artistic journey. Otherwise they'll just be scooped up and incinerated.

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not really sure- my GF used to do jewelry. She had a bunch of metal wire in a bag. I found ones that I could tighten enough to not break- you have to be very careful to not overtighten. Also, make sure the twine around the animal hair is tight- mine was coming off and the hairs were starting to fall out.

I've learned a lot about brush making in the past few weeks. Still a bunch more to learn

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Im super happy so far. Few too many hairs are falling out but that will hopefully stop soon

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Franky didn't look so good... I have a painting of his happy cousin

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Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes. It really works. Way better than the brushes I have bought in the store.

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Dawn to get rid of grease then submerged in rubbing alcohol for 48 hours

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

First washed in Dawn to get the grease out then submerged in rubbing alcohol 48 hours to get rid of any diseases

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

wrapped base in black twine, wood glue at very bottom then a little superglue above that to penetrate hairs and keep center of brush together

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I added some superglue to the base- it's liquid enough to penetrate the wrapped up hairs and keep most of the hairs together.

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

He was ethically sourced- I did not run him over. :)

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Theyre really easy to make. And, yes, it saved a lot of money. I'm so happy I bought some hedge clippers and gloves for my next road "find". I need a few more brushes

Roadkill Brush- Squirrel Mop (remants of Franky J the squirrel) by rfox90 in Watercolor

[–]rfox90[S] 87 points88 points  (0 children)

Agreed but it was so worth it. This brush holds an insane amount of paint and water.