Paintings and Paintbrushes

The progress of the painting I just started.  I also finally began working on the canvas that I stretched months ago (the blue one there behind the Kit).

I've been organizing and clearing out my art supply shelf and realized most of my paintbrushes are unusable, gummed up, and gross. But I've kept them with the good brushes nonetheless. I'm sure most people would have thrown crap brushes out long ago. I couldn't bring myself to do it. These were essential tools so now they are relics. If I can't paint with them, I'll think of them differently. I thought about lining them up on a canvas board and gluing them down, adding brushes over time as more get used up. But these are objects, why adhere them to some support?  Just to display for sentimental reasons is too Pinterest craft-mom. These are things that have potential.

So I started weaving them together, not sure if it would work or what would happen. I played around with what I made and got some ideas. Ever since I've started stretching my own canvas (about six years ago) I've been more interested in the process and tools that go into making a painting (putting together the stretcher bars, stretching canvas, stapling, priming) than the actual painting. The only reason why I can think of is because I don't like how people can't see how a painting is made in a finished painting. I looked at paintings for years before I was seventeen (when I learned how to stretch a canvas) but didn't know one thing about how a painting was constructed. I loved the work of Conrad Marca-Relli and Lucio Fontana, artists who gave me glimpses into what making the artwork was like.

I'm thinking art supplies and tools as splints, hinderances, extensions of the artist... how to deal with making art in general...  It could turn out hokey, I'm well aware. A few months ago I was introduced to the work of Melanie Bonajo and she came to mind later when I was looking back at this photo.