Da Vinci Watercolor Brush Quill
Cosmotop Spin
Sizes 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8
Made in Germany
The da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Rounds are my go-to workhorse brush, and have been for years. They have an excellent snap and a wonderful point that offer wonderful control and crisp details. If you take care of these, they will last you for years. The Cosmotop Spin line is made with synthetic fibers of five different diameters, which makes water absorption very efficient.
Quill brushes are similar to Rounds, but handle a little differently. The brush "belly" is farther forward, as well as the grip, making the balance of the brush different. They are called Quill brushes because they were traditionally manufactured with natural bird quills for the ferrule, and tied with wire. Today, plastic is used instead as it takes pressure off of thee natural environment and is actually more durable.
A Note on Quill Brushes: the sizes run at a different scale for these. Pay close attention to the pictures. A size 8 Round will be much, much smaller than a size 8 Quill, which is enormous.
Tip: To extend the life of any paintbrush, use a pocket mister to spray down your watercolor pans a few minutes before you dive in and begin using them. This saves your brush bristles from the extra fatigue and wear-and-tear of re-wetting each color.
Brush Care: After use, simply rinse your watercolor brushes in clean water, reshape the point with your fingers and, if possible, lay them horizontally with heads off the edge of your surface to dry completely. Avoid storing wet brushes in any kind of sealed container to prevent mold or degradation of the glue at the base of the bristles.