da Vinci Watercolor Maestro Series 10 Size 1 - Sharp Round - Maestro Kolinsky Red Sable - The Finest Kolinsky Available - Made in Germany

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.

Perfect watercolor brush

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.

One of the things that I had a lot of trouble with was figuring out what size these brushes were so I included photos that provide size information in case others have the same problem I had (another reviewer provided good photos of the artissimo brushes in comparison to each other which I found really helpful so hopefully my photos add to that treasure trove).I ordered a size 0 and when it arrived tonight I laid it out with my other watercolor brushes and determined that is the tiniest bit larger than my size 8 round Winsor and Newton brush. My guess based on research would be that the size 3 is pretty close to a standard 12 but that is speculation on my part because I only purchased the size 0.This is the brush (that I have) that the size 0 Artissimo is closest to:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060KSSNU/ref=twister_B01KUQFMSS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1(The pointed round size 8 might be a closer match but I have the standard round.)It's also a very light brush, surprisingly so, weighs about 2 grams or less than 1/10 Oz; I could barely get it to register a weight on my kitchen scale. I note this because I'm used to heavier brushes and pens so I was surprised.The only issue that I had (and keep in mind I haven't painted with it yet, I literally unboxed it 30 minutes ago) was that when it first arrived there was no brush in the packaging it was shipped in, it came as just an empty plastic sleeve. I immediately returned it and two days later this brush arrived, well packaged, the bristles are protected by the hard plastic sleeve and again with a thin sheet of plastic wrapped around the bristles.I guess I can finally start painting my mom's Christmas present now that this brush finally arrived :-D

Great brush for the price, but needs frequent refilling and cleaning. Holds a point but requires steady maintenance.