Dear future great-grandchild,

It’s September of 2022 and I am in my penultimate semester at Adelphi, where I will earn my Master’s degree. This week I am researching an artifact or an object within my home or studio. While looking through the art supplies in my bedroom, I began to observe the many paint brushes I have used throughout the years. Some of them I acquired during high school, but most during my time in college. There were five that stood out to me, because they were a gift from my great-grandmother. She was a very talented artist, her paintings amazed me as a young child and I feel lucky to have many of the tools she used during her life. After thinking about her life, I began to think about the life of the paint brushes she gifted me. Something I never put thought into. 

I had so many questions. Where did she purchase these? What are they used for? How old are they? Where were they made? What are they made of? This was a great starting point. 

I began by reading through a book she gave me along with her supplies titled “How to Draw and Paint” by Henry Gasser. On page 146 I found images of paint brushes with descriptions about each one. Four of the brushes are flat brushes, but each one is a different size. Flat brushes are useful for large areas and backgrounds. These brushes will quickly moisten your paper if you prefer to put down a preliminary wash of color. The fifth brush is a round brush, primarily used for oil painting, it is still a brush I use in my watercolor paintings to remove unwanted areas of color. 

Although these paint brushes were typically used for painting on canvas or watercolor paper, paint brushes can be used for more than just creating a painting. Many of my friends are artists and I wanted to know what they have used paint brushes for, and thought about what I’ve used them for in the past. One of my friends is a drag queen, and has used a paintbrush to apply makeup. Another friend has used a paintbrush to paint their shoes a fresh white. I have used these brushes to paint theatre backdrops, to paint furniture for my scale model sets, to paint on my friend for a stop motion film, to touch up a chip on a table, and various other things. Paint brushes are not just used for ordinary paintings. 

Lastly, I observed the brushes carefully. I had never read what was carved into the wooden handles. The round brush says “M. Grumbacher” a brand of brushes that I have never personally bought myself. The company has been around since 1905, twenty years before my great-grandmother was born. One of the flat brushes reads “Winsor & Newton University Bright Series 237 England”. They still sell these brushes, making it difficult to try and figure out when these brushes were made or purchased. The last brush with visible writing says “Simply Simmons 12” another brush that is still being manufactured. Although I could not figure out when they were produced, I was still able to learn about different brands of brushes, their quality, and their history. 

These brushes will always be special to me, and I hope to pass them down to my children and then to you one day. Whether you end up being an artist or not, there are many things you can use these brushes for. I hope you can discover new ways of using them. For now they will stay displayed on the dresser in my bedroom. 

Love,

 “Gigi”