da Vinci Watercolor Maestro Series 10 Size 2 - Sharp Round - Maestro Kolinsky Red Sable - The finest Kolinsky available - Made in Germany

Summer 2025 update: Windsor & Newton Series 7 has taken a STEEP decline in quality. Nearly unusable for detail work. The last 3 I've bought have been terrible, all with a single stray bristle at the top that's like half a mm longer than the rest that messes up detail work. For the price (currently $32 and change) that's completely unacceptable. The Da Vinci Series 35 Round Long Taper in size 3 is now my go-to for nearly all work. The quality of the point, length and belly are immaculate and far as I'm concerned, it's simply the best choice for miniature painting, hands down.There's only two brushes I would put at the very, absolute top of the list... da Vinci Series 10 Maestro and Windsor & Newton Series 7. I know some painters hone in on a very specific series of brushes but while Windsor & Newton only have the Series 7 (for miniature painting), da Vinci has many versatile brushes outside of the "typical" Series 10 miniature painting range. It should be noted that every brush here holds an amazing, sharp point. It's just a great aspect of them all so I won't get into that.Obviously the Series 10 is wonderful and you can't go wrong, but their Round Retouching, Round Long Taper, Series 30 and Fuller English Round are ALL amazing. What it really comes down to is the length of the brush as well as it's thickness. While for most of these the thickness difference will be minimal, an important aspect to pay attention to is the taper. The "Round Long Taper" is VERY much closer to an Artis Opus series S brush as they both have a uniquely long pointed taper, particularly noticeable in both when you get to size 2 or higher, with the Artis Opus brand being slightly thinner than da Vinci (which is neither good or bad, both have their purpose... thinner brushes obscure less but hold less paint). It's these multiple variations in brushes that really makes da Vinci shine over Windsor & Newton series 7 and even Artis Opus, who only have two sizes... "regular" and "miniature painting" size, even though I don't know anyone who uses the "mini painting" size to actually paint miniatures. Being able to get different series for different uses, or even just generic use but with variation, opens up a huge amount of possibilities that other companies I've mentioned simply lack. Longer taper for fine details like eyes and hard to reach spots, Fuller English Round for priming or macro level work, Round Retouching for a very *slightly* shorter brush, but still no where as near short as the "miniature painter" brush, which is great for smaller areas or the Series 10 size 3 for general use (fun fact, the da Vinci Series 10 sizing is one higher than Windsor & Newton series 7... so a W&N Series 7 size 2 brush is equal to a da Vinci Series 10 size 3, Series 7 size 1 is equal to a Series 10 size 2, etc.). Having this variation in brushes, but all of them still having the same bonkers level quality, really makes da Vinci shine over the others in my eyes. Again though, don't get me wrong, Windsor & Newton and Artis Opus are BOTH S tier omega level "can't do better" quality.The only downside to these brushes (and ALL hand made Kolinsky brushes suffer from this), is the price. They have NOT priced well with inflation, skyrocketing in price in the last year or two. It was only 2 or 3 years ago when a Series 10 size 3 would around 20 bucks. Now it's $30 (ditto for the Series 7... only Artis Opus has managed to keep it's price slightly lower... though still higher than it used to be). This price point *severely* hurts the wallet and if it wasn't for the extreme quality, durability and perfection you get from a da Vinci/Windsor & Newton/Artis Opus, I would say *never* buy them at their current price. That said, this is a perfect example of "you get what you pay for", in this case said positively, making your wallet cry every 6 to 8 months is a pain absolutely worth suffering. These brushes will last you many, MANY months if you paint every day, or even over a year if you're more casual. Bite the bullet, take the financial hit, and buy fewer times for extreme quality, instead of buying synthetic or "lesser" animal hair brushes like wolf/camel/etc. multiple times. Use those cheaper brushes for oils, enamels, et al., which require heavy chemicals to use and will destroy your expensive kolinsky hair brushes.The price sucks, I know, but spend it anyway. You absolutely can't go wrong.Quick recap:ALL da Vinci brushes hold a near perfect point.Round Long Taper: Fine details and hard to reach spots as you get an extra half mm or so in length. Equal to Artis Opus style brushes.Series 10 Maestro: "Standard", generic use. Good for all aspects. Order 1 size higher if you're used to Windsor & Newton Series 7.Round Retouching: Slightly shorter brush, especially compared to the Long Taper, good for smaller, general areas. Much better choice than the way too short "miniature painter" brushes sold by others.Fuller English Round: Holds more paint than the rest, good for priming, basing and other large scale coverage where obscuring details doesn't really matter.

I bought two Round 10 Size 2 brushes. One arrived with a protective cap, the other didn't. The uncapped brush fortunately only had one hair that was bent out of shape.I was able to use that brush today to paint some 28mm statues. I also had my current favorite brush to help with two brush blending (the Da Vinci Student Series 373, also Round Size 2). The Maestro lived up to its name, and the student needs a lot more education. The Maestro bulged beautifully, almost precisely in the middle between the ferrule and the needle-sharp tip. To achieve that tip only a slight rolling of the brush was required as I pulled it through a puddle of thinned acrylic.Laying down large swaths of color was, as one would expect from any brush, easy. The brush held so much paint I started to question whether I was blanking on the moments when I reloaded; but no! This brush simply holds a lot of paint.The test came when I needed to paint the statue's eyes, and paint the 1mm wide sash. I could not have asked for better precision. The tip was so pointed I had to make actual brush strokes to lay paint on the eye. I was able to paint in the very narrow crevice between the figure's folded clothing and the belt, without any of the paint brushing onto the clothes.Then came two brush blending. The Student, while a very nice brush and my favorite of the low-cost options, felt like a toothbrush in comparison to the Maestro. The Student's bristles were hard, and pushed back against my hand where the Maestro's bristles are impossibly soft, yield to the pressure and snap back to a point. The Student's tip felt like I was using an old sharpie compared to the fine drafting pen of the Maestro. A new frustration arose when I had to reload the Student at least twice for each time I loaded the Maestro.Currently the Maestro is twice as expensive as the Student, but is definitely more than twice the brush. If this lasts as long as a Student I will be ecstatic.

Perfect watercolor brush

After reading the reviews and doing a little digging elsewhere I chose this brush instead. And I don't regret it for one second. This is the one.

These are possibly the finest brushes I own!! I attached photos of their size. They hold a ton of water.They can cover a very large area and yet the point can still be used for great detail.These are made with the intention of not having to constantly be dipping your brush in water and paint.That interrupts the flow of the painting. Great paintings are made by using a continuous flow.These brushes allow that to happen.I also own the Russian Blue Squirrel brushes and they differ in their ability to snap.The blue squirell does not snap like the kolinsky. They are more of a mop type brush.Whereas, these brushes do not lose their shape. These brushes have a fat belly and a sharp point.Hence, you can make long continuous lines or long strokes without stopping to reload your brush.I attached some photos so that you can get a better perspective of the size of these brushes.In one photo I compare a size 12 kolinsky to a size 4 kolinsky Artissimo brush.I hope this helps!

Brush was spectacular, sadly, I was unable to use it. I excitedly opened a large SABLE brush my husband bought me for my birthday, and to kick off Level 2 in my watercolor career. The brush arrived, rolling around in an empty box. No protective plastic card to house the brush either. Many hairs were sticking out in all directions, never to be in place again. The entire brush looked like a very bad hair day. And it's been 2 weeks with no date in sight for an exchange. Unbelievable and utter lack of quality. Some minimum wage earner who couldn't care less, just earning their keep. My neighborhood art store will be appalled by this practice, and I DO plan on reiterating such an abysmal lack of care. So sad...