<p>The following is one approach for making paint brushes which are more environmentally-friendly than factory-made plastic handled brushes (relatively speaking).</p>
<p>However, the use of such a brush is limited in scope to one of the following two applications:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol>
<li><p>Making minimalist line contour drawings (e.g. a black outline of</p>
</li>
<li><p>drawings of grass or other plants.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>I recommend using the spiny leaves of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_glauca" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>yucca glauca</em></a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_baccata" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>yucca baccata</em></a> as a paint-brush.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yCw7c.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yCw7c.gif" alt="ANIMATED GIF IN WHICH ONE SPINY LEAF IS REMOVED FROM A YUUCA PLANT GROWING IN THE CITY OF AURORA, COLORADO WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/JAmnTm.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/JAmnTm.jpg" alt="PHOTOGRAPH OF YUCCA LEAF" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/2pKjK.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2pKjK.gif" alt="animated gif demonstrating how to paint with a yuuca leaf or other dry stiff piece of environmentally friendly alternative to a factory made paint brush" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/9Gzj2m.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/9Gzj2m.jpg" alt="complete grass background" /></a></p>
<p>After completing a grassy background, foreground objects such as animals and/or people can be painted on a separate sheet of paper and glued on top of the background.</p>
<p>In the images shown above, iron oxide concrete colorant was used as paint, but this post is mostly about how to make a paint-brush, not make your own paint.</p>
<p>Some species of yucca have stiff leaves and other species of yucca have soft leaves.</p>
<p>I recommend not using yucca leaves if they look or feel floppy, such as the leaves of the soft-leafed spineless cane yucca or yucca gigantea.</p>
<p>Yuccas with stiff leaves (such as yucca baccata) are low-water use plants which grow easily in localities with less than 40 inches of annual rainfall or other precipitation. If you have a house, you can easily grow one in your front or backyard for a renewable supply of paint brushes.</p>
<p>I live in the state of Colorado, USA. I find yuccas growing wild all of the time when walking outside, but they live in California, and other places too.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-13T14:08:30.447Z
That is not a brush, it is a stylus.
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-10T18:23:57.740Z
@rebusB You are correct about a stylus not being the same as a paint brush. The phrases "Is a stylus" and "is not a stylus" have the  flavor of boolean logic or black and white thinking. Black and white thinking is a useful tool somtimes, but there exist times where pairwise comparisons are a more useful model for English words.
Samuel Muldoon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-10T18:27:03.923Z
@rebusB A mental model in which the world is painted in various shades of grey is somtimes more useful than a binary black and white mental model of the world. Rather than saying that somthing is a house or is not a house we can say that a mobile home is more like a house than an umbrella. This is similair to how frying pans are more useful for cooking grilled cheese sandwhiches than phillips head screwdrivers are for cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. When choosing a paint brush or stylus, let us try to choose the too which best meets our objectives.
Samuel Muldoon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-14T15:47:24.650Z
If you are going to use your own definitions of things, then it makes little sense to ask others advice on how to make said things.
rebusB
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-03T02:04:43.257Z
2023-06-03T02:04:43.257Z
Samuel Muldoon
<p>Some paint brushes require people to transport plastic, wood, or fibers for bristles to a paint-brush factory in a tractor trailer (aka <em>semi-truck</em>). The tractor trailers burn fossil fuels. If the paint brush is used in the United States and manufactured in China, then ships burn diesel fuel carrying the brushes across the ocean.</p>
<p>I did not intend to lecture. If we move on with the discussion, just assume that someone might want a paint brush containing no plastic parts, metal parts, etc.</p>
<p>How would an arts &amp; craft enthusiast create their own environmentally friendly (&quot;<em>green</em>&quot;?) paint brush, which harms plants and/or animals less than a store-bought brush (relatively speaking)?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-27T22:56:27.907Z
It seems you're asking for an entire tutorial, which isn't the best fit for the Stack Exchange network. Have you looked around for information or tried making them before you asked it here?
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-28T10:34:16.960Z
Brush making - especially for art - has always been the job of specialized masters. And traditionally only animal hair was used for paint brushes because plant fibers just don't work as well. IMO it's very unrealistic for a layperson to make paint brushes that actually work. The best you could probably achieve is a very stiff brush for cave paintings or a similar level of detail.
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-29T07:16:25.123Z
Just for clarification: how do you expect your DIY brushes to perform? Do you want to paint realistic portraits with them? Bob Ross landscapes? Abstract art that consists only of lines, patterns and texture? And do you have access to animals like horses or goats where you could source hairs ethically without harming the animals?
Elmy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-30T11:44:27.727Z
Metal jointing is common at all price points, with good reason. But it could probably be fine with reclaimed materials, for something far more useful than gluing bristles into a hollow handle. Anyway you'd need to consider your source of glue, if you're trying to avoid using plastics.
Chris H
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-13T20:36:16.537Z
What have you tried so far?
robline
<painting><paint><paint-brushes>
How do I make home-made environmentally friendly paint brushes?
Samuel Muldoon
# How do I make home-made environmentally friendly paint brushes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-27)

Some paint brushes require people to transport plastic, wood, or fibers for bristles to a paint-brush factory in a tractor trailer (aka *semi-truck*). The tractor trailers burn fossil fuels. If the paint brush is used in the United States and manufactured in China, then ships burn diesel fuel carrying the brushes across the ocean.

I did not intend to lecture. If we move on with the discussion, just assume that someone might want a paint brush containing no plastic parts, metal parts, etc.

How would an arts & craft enthusiast create their own environmentally friendly ("*green*"?) paint brush, which harms plants and/or animals less than a store-bought brush (relatively speaking)?

**Tags:** painting, paint, paint-brushes

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It seems you're asking for an entire tutorial, which isn't the best fit for the Stack Exchange network. Have you looked around for information or tried making them before you asked it here?  
> **username_2**: Brush making - especially for art - has always been the job of specialized masters. And traditionally only animal hair was used for paint brushes because plant fibers just don't work as well. IMO it's very unrealistic for a layperson to make paint brushes that actually work. The best you could probably achieve is a very stiff brush for cave paintings or a similar level of detail.  
> **username_2**: Just for clarification: how do you expect your DIY brushes to perform? Do you want to paint realistic portraits with them? Bob Ross landscapes? Abstract art that consists only of lines, patterns and texture? And do you have access to animals like horses or goats where you could source hairs ethically without harming the animals?  
> **username_3**: Metal jointing is common at all price points, with good reason. But it could probably be fine with reclaimed materials, for something far more useful than gluing bristles into a hollow handle. Anyway you'd need to consider your source of glue, if you're trying to avoid using plastics.  
> **username_4**: What have you tried so far?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2023-06-03. Score: 1

The following is one approach for making paint brushes which are more environmentally-friendly than factory-made plastic handled brushes (relatively speaking).

However, the use of such a brush is limited in scope to one of the following two applications:

> 1. Making minimalist line contour drawings (e.g. a black outline of
> 2. drawings of grass or other plants.

I recommend using the spiny leaves of [*yucca glauca*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_glauca) or [*yucca baccata*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_baccata) as a paint-brush.

[![ANIMATED GIF IN WHICH ONE SPINY LEAF IS REMOVED FROM A YUUCA PLANT GROWING IN THE CITY OF AURORA, COLORADO WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA](https://i.sstatic.net/yCw7c.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/yCw7c.gif)

[![PHOTOGRAPH OF YUCCA LEAF](https://i.sstatic.net/JAmnTm.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/JAmnTm.jpg)

[![animated gif demonstrating how to paint with a yuuca leaf or other dry stiff piece of environmentally friendly alternative to a factory made paint brush](https://i.sstatic.net/2pKjK.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/2pKjK.gif)

[![complete grass background](https://i.sstatic.net/9Gzj2m.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/9Gzj2m.jpg)

After completing a grassy background, foreground objects such as animals and/or people can be painted on a separate sheet of paper and glued on top of the background.

In the images shown above, iron oxide concrete colorant was used as paint, but this post is mostly about how to make a paint-brush, not make your own paint.

Some species of yucca have stiff leaves and other species of yucca have soft leaves.

I recommend not using yucca leaves if they look or feel floppy, such as the leaves of the soft-leafed spineless cane yucca or yucca gigantea.

Yuccas with stiff leaves (such as yucca baccata) are low-water use plants which grow easily in localities with less than 40 inches of annual rainfall or other precipitation. If you have a house, you can easily grow one in your front or backyard for a renewable supply of paint brushes.

I live in the state of Colorado, USA. I find yuccas growing wild all of the time when walking outside, but they live in California, and other places too.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: That is not a brush, it is a stylus.  
> **username_0**: @username_5 You are correct about a stylus not being the same as a paint brush. The phrases "Is a stylus" and "is not a stylus" have the  flavor of boolean logic or black and white thinking. Black and white thinking is a useful tool somtimes, but there exist times where pairwise comparisons are a more useful model for English words.  
> **username_0**: @username_5 A mental model in which the world is painted in various shades of grey is somtimes more useful than a binary black and white mental model of the world. Rather than saying that somthing is a house or is not a house we can say that a mobile home is more like a house than an umbrella. This is similair to how frying pans are more useful for cooking grilled cheese sandwhiches than phillips head screwdrivers are for cooking grilled cheese sandwiches. When choosing a paint brush or stylus, let us try to choose the too which best meets our objectives.  
> **username_5**: If you are going to use your own definitions of things, then it makes little sense to ask others advice on how to make said things.  

---

