Watercolor Series 10 Maestro Paint Brush, Round Kolinsky Red Sable, Size 0 (100)

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. Regarding the pic-- Everything was painted with the size 3 round long taper, except for the cape which was airbrushed. Original review: 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.

Absolutely beautiful brush. Thankfully it came packed in it's own box,which enabled it to withstand the "amazon" packing treatment.Those of you who order frequently high end and fragile items know what I mean! It was the only item out of the 3 brushes I ordered in the packing box that was not damaged! The size 16 maestro kolinsky filbert had a broken/shattered handle IN a sealed bag (was certainly shipped in that condition!) and the size 18 maestro kolinsky filbert has completely mis-shapen hair fibers from being packed tightly in a bag with no protection to the brush head(the entire brush head tilts at 30 degrees and hopefully I can get it back)! No packing slip was enclosed. This brush was the happy exception to that order,not only did it come in it's own cardboard box but also contained a piece of lint free wiping cloth and a small bar of da vinci brush soap (about the size of a hotel courtesy bar).That makes it a nice package.The box is not high-end like the winsor newton series 7 larger sizes,it is simple cardboard,but the addition of the lint free cloth and the quality brush soap make it a nice combo,perfect for a special gift for the artist in your life,or yourself! That pleasure notwithstanding, the severe and escalating product damage which has now culminated in receiving a completely destroyed very expensive paintbrush forces me to now shop elsewhere for my artist material needs.It is no longer worth it! And at least other art supply retailers will replace a defective/damaged item no questions asked and without the pain and hassle of returning and receiving the damaged one back first. Also,with other retailers the incidence of damage is far less common,but when it happens,they make it right-right away!You don't even get a human pulse with amazon and the consumer has to do all the leg work. I will continue my prime membership for inexpensive,durable household needs only. Ironically,those items are always well packed and protected and never arrive damaged.Never again for expensive or fragile items,regardless of the lure of the %off deal.Totally unacceptable!

The brush itself is very nice, real kolinsky brushes are always perfect. But exactly this brush has a bump on the handle (it looks like a white dot on the photo), but this bump is on the side where typically I hold the brush, so it creates a very inconvenient feeling. Summing, buying such an expensive professional quality brush, we usually expected that the brush will be perfect in all. But I was disappointed. Overall I trust that da Vici is good at making brushes and plan to try another of their brushes. But not Maestro of course.

Holds a sharp point, holds plenty of paint and is the right balance and size for my hand.

Honestly just buy W&N, this arrived bent (i fixed it) and the quality of the brush feels really bad for the price. Size is a bit bigger than i thought, Ease of use is very odd/bad since it’s still a bit bent making it inaccurate at times. Water retention is fine.

Have used it twice and the thing can’t hold a point. After the first time I tried shaping it, but the second it got wet again the point frayed.

They are expensive generally and realistically you only need a few. The rest of your brushes can be synthetic. But about 3 brushes from very large to medium to fine is all you need. They last a lifetime if you keep them clean and take care of them. I use the #16 for most everything except really fine work. I also have a #8 and a #2. All worth it, and Da Vinci is one of the best brands and the point is super sharp. Other brands like Daniel Smith actually rebrand Da Vinci brushes and charge more.