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Your cart is empty.4.8 out of 5 stars
- #22,873 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing (See Top 100 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing)
- #2 in Quill Art Paintbrushes
Product Description
Our thirstiest brush ever!
Creating Brushes that Inspire
Princeton Artist Brush Co. is one of the largest brush-makers in North America. Since they started in 1992, artist brushes have been their sole focus. While other companies offer an assortment of art supplies, Princeton focuses on making one thing: the best quality, most fairly priced artist brushes available today.
About Our Brushes
Neptune Watercolor Brushes
Neptune Brushes are a true breakthrough for watercolorists. They provide a new level of finesse and control in your painting.
After seven years of development, we created our softest and thirstiest synthetic hair ever. Neptune brushes hold a reservoir of water, delivering oceans of color with each stroke.
- Soft and agile with an even release of color
- Durable and affordable design
- Offered in a variety of shapes to foster infinite creativity
The Benefits of Synthetic Squirrel Brushes
Thirsty & Supple Design
Neptune's performance is comparable to that of a quality natural hair brush, while holding more color than traditional synthetics.
Offers Precision & Control
Our softest synthetic squirrel hair brushes offer a superior level of dexterity and control in your painting.
Durable & Affordable Brushes
Neptune synthetic brushes use FSC and are animal-friendly.
RP
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025
I love this brush. It holds a lot of water, but still holds a great point. It's a fine enough point that I can use it all the way down to a #8 brush so it means less brush switching, which is always good.
Anne Beaulieu
Reviewed in Canada on September 4, 2024
aquarelle, excellent produit, je recherchais un oinceau qui retient l'eau j'ai été choyé, je le recommande
JD Hamilton
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2024
Softer synthetic brush that holds a lot of water. The price is very reasonable.
Amber Golightly
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2024
Okay, I love this brush. It holds so much water and pigment. My one gripe is that it sheds. I have washed it about 20 times now to get loose hairs out, but lo and behold I will be painting and here comes 3-4 bristles per 5x7 painting. That's a high bristle to canvas ratio. I am STILL going to use it though. That's how good it is. I just use tweezers to grab the bristles out and hope it eventually stops.
Robin
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2024
Very nice paint brush ~ well made and lightweight.
Amanda
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2024
I absolutely love the princeton brand and this brush is another one to add to my watercolour collection. The brush have soft bristles that hold the water well and the quill shape is so versatile. From large washes to fine lines i've enjoyed using this brush very much. It holds a lot of colour and releases it in a controlled and even way. The quill shape is new to me and i wish i'd purchased this one a long time ago! I'm not a very skilled artist but i've painted a nice landscape without changing brushes at all! I will be purchasing a few more sizes and i'd recommend it to anyone.
Lisa
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2023
This is a good brush for artists with some experience. It holds a lot of water and pigment. The bristles are soft, but don't have a good "snap," as some artists prefer. As ever, the type of brush you want depends on how you paint, what you're used to, and what effects you're after. For the price, this is a great brush if you want to try out a well-made synthetic squirrel quill.
Demie
Reviewed in Germany on March 30, 2020
This is honestly such a majestic brush! It is quite thirsty though, the bristles can hold an amazing amount of water so I am not sure if I would recommend it for total beginners. If you are adventurous however and want to discover your technique I would totally recommend this brush. It retains the amount of water enough to cover an A4 piece of Aquarell paper, and has a very fine tip if dried and formed properly.
C.Lacroix
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2020
I love this brush!!! I purchased the size 8 and I was not disappointed with its size! Keep in mind that this brush is not the same size as an 8 round and it is much larger than the round since this is a mop/quill brush.I have been having a hard time with my water drying up before I can get all my paint down because I have been using cheaper brushes that don’t hold enough water. The other reviews on this brush we’re joking when they said this is like a mop because it holds SOooo much water! I was worried that the metal wire would be uncomfortable to hold... the photos don’t show that they are exposed and twisted on the opposite side of the brush, but considering it’s not really comfortable to hold the brush in that area while painting anyways, it doesn’t seem to be an issue. I still would have liked to see these wires covered so they don’t scratch you if you’re not paying attention anyways. There is definitely a learning curve to try and figure out hand control to get the kind of strokes you want if you’re not used to these types of brushes. This particular brush looks like it would be more for washes rather than trying to get more pigmented strokes because it does hold so much water. This is also good for trying to make leaves and flower petals all in one or two stokes once you get a hold on the hand control. If you’re trying to use this for smaller paintings and finer details, this is not a good brush for that as that is not it’s intended use. It does makes some fine lines as well as very nice think lines, but you can only get them so thin. The bristles are very soft once wet and really flows in the water and on the paper.The quality is great and I will definitely be investing in some more of these in other sizes! This is worth the cost and if you’re on the fence about purchasing one of these brushes for this intended use, you will not be disappointed!
FiveFlavors
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2018
Really liked this brush for large washes e.g. sky. Also nice for trees and as I get better using it, suspect will be useful for many other things. I don't like to carry too many brushes but this one has earned a place in my kit. Much larger than the size number would imply, THe 6 is the largest I could imagine using on anything smaller than a half sheet. Maybe experience will revise that revise.
spaceballad
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2017
Background:- intermediate beginner in watercolor, been playing around with the medium for several months nowPros:- Princeton Neptune doesn't lie when it says this is its thirstiest brush. The brush holds A LOT of water. Maybe too much in fact (will get to that later).- The brush is super super soft. Usually synthetic brushes tend to be on the stiffer side but not this one. Painting with it has a great hand feel. Moving the brush back and forth gives a very soft and velvety feedback. Because it's soft be warned though - this brush has practically no spring and will be in the shape that you use the brush. I am fine with this though.- Brush has a great pointy tip. You can really do a whole painting with this brush. I attached a photo of the painting I did with this and hopefully you can see what kind of detail you are able to get. The painting is postcard sized, so it's very small.Cons:- This brush holds so much water that it's really difficult to get a dark opaque pigment with it. I think the fact that it's so soft also hinders it's ability to pick up pigment. It simply has so much water in it that no matter how much pigment I slap on the water will dilute it. Also because it holds so much water, you have to be extremely careful to control the water amount on you brush and paper and keep them the same in order to avoid blooms.Summary:A very nice feeling brush that holds a ton of water - but be warned, because this brush is very thirsty it is very difficult to control and i would say not suitable for a complete beginner. It's good for nice soft washes and even can do a whole painting with details if you wish. But probably not very good at all for glazing because it holds so much water.
Joydeep Biswas
Reviewed in India on January 9, 2017
Good product. Quite satisfied. Good seller service too. Thank you.
Hughie
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2014
Comes from the US, but even with postage is a least as good as similar UK offerings and less expensive. Just soak in cold water for a few minutes to get out the hair stiffening and it is good to go. Also it did not shed any hairs at the beginning like other similar more expensive mop brushes. A good buy.
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