San Francisco-based artist Rebecca Szeto has created a beautiful series of paintbrushes with ends that are sculpted to resemble iconic figures in art. Using her old paintbrushes, she skillfully carves the faces of female portraits mostly from the Renaissance period- such as the girl with the pearl earring. She also carves other female figures in art history. Szeto used her background of faux finishing to carve these intriguing designs out of tools that are about to be thrown away. She literally transforms the tool into the artwork itself. 

“The slow and repetitive nature of whittling becomes a meditative activity,” says Szeto. For the artist, the build-up of paint layers helps define their ultimate form as she reflects “on the idiosyncrasies of each individual brush.” See more designs on her website here. 

via Lustik