PrincetonArtist Brush, Neptune Series 4750, Synthetic Squirrel Watercolor Paint Brush, Round, Size 8

I looked at the Neptune quill mops before looking at this brush, as I wanted a synthetic brush that could hold a lot of water and pigment, allowing for loose, expressive strokes and wet-in-wet techniques in my watercolor illustration work. The diameter of this brush head is 8.7mm and tip length is 33mm. This makes it roughly comparable in size to a size 2 quill mop brush, which is not available in this brush line (Neptune quill brushes are only available in sizes 4-8). I felt that the size 4 quill would be just a bit too large for me, since most of my work is done in small to medium sizes. This brush seemed to be the size that I needed, so I bought it, and I’m really impressed with it. The belly holds a lot of water and pigment, releasing it fairly evenly onto my paper. I can do big, loose, expressive strokes with it very easily. It is now one of my go-to brushes when I want to put a lot of pigment down on the paper or want to drag pigment with a wet brush to watch it flow from one area to another. It isn’t a quill and isn’t as versatile (which I’ll explain momentarily), but for what it does, it’s excellent.I do will point out that this brush is not really comparable to a quill mop in one major aspect, i.e, the shape of the brush head. Quill brushes have a rounder belly and more narrowly tapered tip, while this brush has a fairly balanced diameter from ferrule to tip. So, while both a quill and this large round can hold a lot of paint and disburse it smoothly, they don’t share the same versatility. With a good quality quill mop, you can get broad strokes and fine lines with the same brush. You get get a lot of stroke variety with this brush, but you will not achieve as fine of lines with it as a good quality, comparably sized quill. End of story. So, it really comes down to your needs. If you need a brush with a full belly and really fine point to do a lot of work with a single brush, you’re better off going with a quill brush. But, if you want large, expressive strokes and to wet sizable areas with a single dip of the brush, this one will do quite nicely. And, it’s pretty affordable, too!Side note: I ended up getting this brush for larger, wet areas and the Da Vinci Casaneo size 0 quill mop on Amazon (which I also love) for the versatility in strokes from a single brush. They complement each other quite nicely and give me a lot of options when I’m working more loosely, filling in large areas or working wet-in-wet.I have added a couple of my recent illustrations, where I used this brush in part of my painting process, to show its versatility. In the perfume bottle illustration, I used this brush to paint the perfume inside of the bottle using a wet-in-wet technique, dispersing near the top, then feathering it downward with the brush. In the smoothie bowl illustration, I used this brush to create the large, wet swirls around the outside edges of the bowl, using a wet-on-dry painting technique with a very wet brush. Both of these illustrations were done on a 9x12” block of Stonehenge Aqua cold-press watercolor paper (also available on Amazon). I like the performance that it delivers and would definitely buy it again.

This is a great quality brush. I use it with my watercolors. My only complaint was that the package was delivered crushed so the bristles were a little funky at first, but after submerged in water for a little bit, they bounced right back. I have many Princeton brushes in various sizes.

Holds a lot of water. Great if you understand water control. Frustrating if you don’t because it’s just like any other paintbrush. Holds its point.

Great quality, holds its shape, has a wonderful flow

I absolutely love the brush!

The Neptune round 16 brush holds a lot of water and spring back is minimal. It is a mop brush.The brush arrived in an Amazon envelope with no packing material.It is a miracle that it arrived in one piece

I LOVE Princeton brushes... The #2 is one of my favorites and from a company I can always trust for PRO quality products.

Doesn’t get much better than the Princeton brushes, they are priced right, the more expensive Princeton series are worth every penny. Generally they have fine tips, are resilient and hold water well. This series is great for beginners which I purchased as a gift.