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.
