This is direct watercolor using A. Gallo watercolor paint on Arches 100% cotton cold press paper (in the book I made in a previous post), using one of my new favorite brushes, the da Vinci Casaneo Quill Brush, size 2. (This is an Amazon affiliate link, and I get rewarded (a little!) if you purchase through this link, without it costing you more… but shop around! I haven’t checked prices on these elsewhere recently. It is $29 right now, but I only paid $21 a few weeks ago… maybe try to wait out a price decrease?)

Quill brushes are sized differently than round brushes (though both are round!) and a 2 quill is maybe like a 6 or 7 round brush. A pretty convenient size. The brush is soft, keeps a beautiful thin tip, holds a ton of water, and this one snaps back nicely. It is actually made from synthetic fibers, and I was surprised by the water it holds. … the brush head itself isn’t as long as I thought it would be. I wonder if that explains the snap back that it has? So far i have enjoyed it immensely, and love the size 0 I got just as much.

This afternoon, I was reading this blog post by a friend of mine, Chandra, from Swap-bot, … She takes beautiful photographs, and always has such thoughtful things to share. I was inspired to try painting one of her tulips tonight. Ok, it turned into something very different, but it’s all good practice! If it looks unfinished to you… that’s because I don’t really know what I’m doing yet. I’m more comfortable sketching in ink, and filling in.

Happy first day of Spring! Go paint a tulip or something anyway!

🙂