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john.
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February 21, 2014 at 2:20 am #991641
Hi Everybody!
I have only been painting since Christmas, & am trying to learn as much as I can. I just purchased a Princeton Neptune (synthetic squirrel) quill brush size 4. I like it so far & it seems to be a very versatile brush. I am getting a feel for it when doing cloudy skies, but was hoping to get some input as to what others use this type of brush for. It seems that it would work well when doing larger areas of water etc. I wondered what ways I could possibly use the quill brush to help ‘loosen up’ my landscape painting. I have read of some doing entire paintings with a single squirrel mop! Any help would be greatly appreciated. ScottScott
"Let there be no purpose in friendship, save the deepening of the spirit" Kahlil GibranFebruary 21, 2014 at 3:05 am #1200458I like the neptune line, it’s for large areas of color, where you don’t need a sharp point. I have a dagger 1/2″ and a 18 round. They are really thirsty brushes. I’d look at getting a bigger brush, it will let you spend more time spreading water and pigment before you have to reload. Have not tried a quill yet, was actually looking at the mottler.
Brian T Meyer
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February 21, 2014 at 7:26 am #1200440I’ve got their #4 Quill, and I’d say it not only covers a lot of paper with all the water and pigment it holds, it also comes to quite a fine point.
I’m all ears to hear what others comment. There are quite a few fans of the Princeton Neptune Quill on this site.
Sandra
February 21, 2014 at 7:41 am #1200430I use such brushes for anything. Having a good top they are useful for details as well as for large areas, for layering as well as for wet-into-wet-
February 21, 2014 at 9:34 am #1200424I have the #8 quill and I use it for entire paintings usually. I can paint dots and lines like a pencil. To do small areas I put the very tip in the water or paint puddle for the time it takes to blink the eye. I put just the tip in the pigment if loading from the well. For bigger areas I put more of the brush in and longer time. Like if I am wetting the sky I dip all the hair into the water and wait for maybe 10 seconds or more. I started doing full paintings with the big quill because it could do everything. I would get so engrossed in painting I would forget to switch to a small brush till I was done. I do have a medium and small mop. I have tried to remember to use the smaller brushes.
February 21, 2014 at 10:13 am #1200441hblenkle, you’re going to have me buying a #8 with your description!
For anyone in the Curry’s neighbourhood, they’ve got all Princeton brushes on sale at the moment!
https://www.currys.com/catalogpc.htm?Category=A021-01&NBReset=2
Sandra
February 21, 2014 at 10:50 am #1200442Here’s the link for Princeton Neptunes specifically, the above link shows the other Princetons on sale as well.
https://www.currys.com/catalogpc.htm?Category=PRINCETON_NEPTUNE_WATER_BRUSHES&NBReset=3
Sandra
February 21, 2014 at 2:30 pm #1200462I have the #8 quill and I use it for entire paintings usually. I can paint dots and lines like a pencil. To do small areas I put the very tip in the water or paint puddle for the time it takes to blink the eye. I put just the tip in the pigment if loading from the well. For bigger areas I put more of the brush in and longer time. Like if I am wetting the sky I dip all the hair into the water and wait for maybe 10 seconds or more. I started doing full paintings with the big quill because it could do everything. I would get so engrossed in painting I would forget to switch to a small brush till I was done. I do have a medium and small mop. I have tried to remember to use the smaller brushes.
hblenkle, I believe yours was a post I saw that inspired me to see how much use I could get out of the quill. I was nervous that it would hold alot of water, but this is after working with a large hake (more like a sponge!). The hake was just too unpredictable for me, at least until I get much more practice with it.
Scott
"Let there be no purpose in friendship, save the deepening of the spirit" Kahlil GibranFebruary 21, 2014 at 8:29 pm #1200449I’m actually curious about this too, as I’ve been thinking of getting a big squirrel mop brush, but have found the price rather prohibitive for those big sizes.
A few questions-
1) What’s the difference functionally between a round and a quill, in terms of how they paint? I see that one is “bound” with wire and the other is not, but that’s all I know so far…2) Just how big across is the #8 quill? Sizing varies so much. I was hoping to get something big, perhaps 1/2″ diameter or more. How big is this one?
3) Is a synthetic squirrel quill different than a squirrel mop? I guess it must be, right? Why else have the name….??? I’ve got to admit, they basically __look__ the same,with the wire end and construction, etc. If they’re different, then what do they do differently?
February 21, 2014 at 10:53 pm #1200425SteveBerry
1. That is the difference and functionally there is no real difference. I don’t know if the wires would bother you if you sometimes grab the brush at the ferrule.
2.The #8 is about 13 mm or just over a 1/2 inch diameter. I also have a size 4 which is about 10 mm or about 3/8 inch diameter. Size 4 is nice for medium to detail areas to paint. The size #8 I use for sky washes on down to details. I have a size 8 and 10 Neptune rounds which are about 4 and 5 mm diameter. Nice for small and detail areas.
3.I have a size 1 and 5 daVinci Squirrel Hair mops. The Neptune is very similar. The Neptune holds about the same amount of water which is amazing. The Neptune is a little more springy than the real squirrel hair. Lots of synthetics claim to be like sables and few are. Neptunes are good replacements for real squirrel hair at half the cost of good squirrel hair brushes. I think the size 5 DiVinci cost about 47 dollars. I could be wrong. I have bought a lot of brushes since then.February 22, 2014 at 2:27 pm #1200463I researched the squirrel mops and synthetic quills & found the Neptune was recommended as a great cheaper alternative to the actual squirrel mops. I purchased mine at Michaels. The regular price for the #4 Neptune quill was $34.99, but with a 40% off coupon it was about $22. I was using the quill last night to see how much I can use it to comfortably paint a basic landscape. In addition to the sky and foreground areas, I was able to paint some fairly small background mountains with ease. I think the size 4, which has a 10 mm brush width, is perfect for me. I know I could cover a lot more paper with a larger quill, but with the massive amount of water it holds it actually seems to cover large areas pretty quickly. Thanks Mr. Blenkle for the tips, especially about dipping in water for 10 seconds to really fill it up. That was a great help when working on my sky last night. I really am starting to love this Neptune quill! I would definitely recommend it, even considering my limited experience with it.
Scott
"Let there be no purpose in friendship, save the deepening of the spirit" Kahlil GibranFebruary 22, 2014 at 8:58 pm #1200426When you load the brush full of water, but don’t want it dripping over everything, just briefly touch the side of the hair to the side of the water container above the water and some will unload back. You will get a feel for it so you don’t empty too much.
February 22, 2014 at 10:23 pm #1200447I love my Neptune brushes. I have a couple of squirrel quills and I think I like the Neptune quills better. It seems to unload a little slower and my squirrel quill splashes if I’m not careful and puts dots of color where I don’t want them.
The other brush I really like from the Princeton Neptune line is the cat’s tongue/oval.
Jan
February 23, 2014 at 11:19 am #1200443hblenkle, I can’t thank you enough for that description of just dipping the tip in water to re-load. That idea has changed my use and opinion of this brush….before, it would get too loaded with water. I never thought of this little adjustment, don’t plunge the entire brush in the water. I liked the brush a lot before, and now I love it.
Sandra
February 23, 2014 at 1:13 pm #1200464hblenkle, I can’t thank you enough for that description of just dipping the tip in water to re-load. That idea has changed my use and opinion of this brush….before, it would get too loaded with water. I never thought of this little adjustment, don’t plunge the entire brush in the water. I liked the brush a lot before, and now I love it.
The more water you need the deeper/longer you can put the brush in. Something that also seems to help me is to use a kitchen sponge (instead of a cloth) to check the water content on the brush and let the sponge soak up any excess water as needed before touching paint to the paper.
Scott
"Let there be no purpose in friendship, save the deepening of the spirit" Kahlil Gibran -
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