Monday, January 7, 2008


Brush Shadows

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125.00 + $6.00 shipping in US.
SOLD

On an earlier post I mentioned how I can't bring myself to throw a paintbrush away. Not entirely true. During the "what to take and what to throw-away" cycle that preceeded our move to Oregon, I did manage to toss about 100 completely worn-out brushes. But I had to do it really fast and not look at them for long, or I would have lovingly placed them back in their coffee cans.

I'm pretty well over it now, but I still have pangs of guilt.

7 comments:

Dean H. said...

I'm with ya on the old brushes, Don. I have a collection of them scattered around...worn out and stubbly. I think subconsiously, I feel like those old brushes, and I hope friends and society won't throw me in the trash because I'm not new anymore. Ah, well enough of that....beautiful paintings!

Deborah Paris said...

I love this series, Don! Our tools are such extensions of us- I know how hard it is to part with any of them. I am curious about the brushes in the first piece (French Couple). What are they?

Don Gray said...

Well, we're just basket-cases, Dean! Thanks for your comments.

Don Gray said...

That's so true, Deborah. I'll bet many artists feel that way. Both the brushes are French housepainters brushes I've had for many years. The smaller one is called a sash brush. The big one says "Soise pures elephant" on the side. The others I can't read any longer, but I know some I have were made by Isabey in Brittany. I used them a lot for mural and large-scale painting. They are fabulous brushes, though I think I love the "look" of them more than the using.

Thaw Malin iii said...

Thanks for your recent comment on my blog about the Pomegranates, Don! Being stuck in my studio for the last few posts like you seem to be, I appreciate your return to your brush series and especially these last 2 you've just completed. Keep up the great work!
Best -Thaw Malin iii

Suzanne McDermott said...

I'm glad you were forced to purge, Don! The old brushes in the coffee cans remind me of the unusable pens and pencils that sit forever in peoples houses, on desks, by phones. They are nothing but teases. Every time I visit someone with a load of such, and pick up half a dozen or so, trying unsuccessfully to write a note, I want to dump them myself (and sometimes, do!) Maybe you can make a sacred totem space for them in the lower 40. After you immortalize them, that is.

Don Gray said...

I get the feeling you might think I have a dysfunctional relationship with my brushes, Suzanne.

A sacred totem in the lower 40--oh I love that idea.

"Purge" is hardly what I did. There's still plenty more worn-out brushes where they came from. My purge was like melting a handful of flakes in a snowstorm.