This Brush Frustrates Me... Let's See How This Goes! (The Most Important Lesson You'll Learn Today)

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PAINT:

Winsor & Newton Professional Tubes:
To find the colour you are looking for, click the link and select the colour from the drop down menu under Colour Name:

The colours in my palette:
Lemon yellow, Cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, cadmium orange, Winsor red, alizarin crimson, perylene maroon, opera rose, permanent rose, quinacridone magenta, perylene violet, Winsor violet (dioxazine), olive green, hookers green, sap green, perylene green, Winsor blue, French ultramarine, phthalate turquoise, cobalt turquoise light, cobalt blue, indigo, Paynes gray, lamp black, neutral tint, sepia, burnt umber, and brown madder.

Winsor & Newton Cotman tube set:
Sets are a great option if choosing colours overwhelms you. These are great options:

Top 5 W&N Cotman Colours To Start With As A Beginner:
(The are the individual colours I would start with when purchasing individual tubes)
- Permanent Rose
- Cadmium Yellow
- Turquoise
- Cadmium Red Deep
- Hooker Green Dark

My next 5 choices would be:
- Dioxazine Purple
- Sap Green
- Prussian Blue
- Burnt Umber
- Black

PAPER SUGGESTIONS:

Arches Cold Pressed Watercolour PAPER:

BRUSHES:

EXTRAS:

Paint Palette:

Music: Type of music: R&B & Soul
Mood: Happiness

[esther]

A dagger brush is very adaptable and is ...

• excellent for thin fine lines... can replace a rigger brush,
• used to create long flowing lines,
• the body of the brush for a broader stroke,
• when pressure is applied and the brush is 'twisted' through a long stroke you can see oriental grass appear; shorter twists for petals and leaves,
• when loaded with paint, they are fun to twist and turn to create texture and organic strokes,
• great for side loading and shading,
• are flexible enough to give you a really wide vocabulary when it comes to brush calligraphy and mark making.

[berolinastrassmann]

I love my dagger brushes, especially for urban sketching. I can get lots of different strokes from just one brush: thin lines, broad strokes, great for leaves is using the belly of the brush. This is important if painting on the go, when I dont take lots of stuff. My favourite is Rosemary & Co 1/2 " and it's sister R12 travel brush. perhaps the Princeton Neptune's are too soft, as they imitate squirrel hair. Mine are a mix of natural and synthetic and are easier to handle. Liz Steel has good videos on using dagger brushes for urban sketching, if you are curious. Thanks for the video

[CastleMc]

I love daggers, they do things no other brush does and are great for straight lines. Its just a matter of getting used to a brush that is different from your usual rounds. Maybe they aren't optimal for florals, but you did well, have fun!

[newtowatercolor]

OMG I love this brush! 🙂 This is the best brush for leaves, like the best ever! It took me about an hour to figure out how to use it and for me the trick is to be very light handed and work from the shoulder. But I am the opposite - I love soft brushes, even though I am still a beginner. I started with the Heritage series and love them too, but the Neptune is my go to. I think I have all the round ones... And the dagger for leaves and grasses is just perfect.

[jillbalsam]

These are FABULOUS brushes. Think loose and watery. NOT for the structured heart or brain. Silver Black Velvet Brush makes a real loose long dagger, too.

[sandrift]

I commend you for going outside your comfort zone and encouraging us to do the same. Considering how to change your technique and practicing more was a good approach — the later painting came out very nice. In short, different brushes/tools are designed for different purposes (even if they can be used in other ways). None of us should expect to take a very different new tool and use the same methods at the same scales/size and get the results we’re accustomed to. As others have suggested, other subjects or larger scale paintings may be better suited to these particular brushes (another way to push out of one’s comfort zone!).

[treesapgrl]

"It's like painting with the tip of your hair." So much YES. That's exactly what it's like. Thank you for this great challenge video!

[ChantelleArts]

I have this exact dagger brush, whilst it was cool to try out, I really struggled to actually find a use for it and haven’t really used it since, I agree it worked lovely for leaves 😊

[JadeScarlett]

It’s not the shape so much as the material that is problematic with the Neptune dagger. Squirrel is extremely soft and much harder to control. You should’ve tried Kristy Rice’s dagger. She absolutely loves this brush shape and does whole paintings just with this one brush. I didn’t like daggers either but when I got her brush set and tried it, I now like it very much 😊

[goat]

They are really great for long slender leaves :-) Or Bamboo leaves and the such. I never use them for round shapes leaves. Mine is a little smaller though - easier to reign in... Thank you for showing us the bigger dagger brush. - Oh, and I use them sometimes instead of a rigger brush. Just the tip of course. Holds a good amount of water.

[louisegrinham]

Thanks for doing this video Emma. Sometimes it's good to know that even the experienced artist struggles with certain things. 🥰 X

[maureensimpson]

I have Kristy rice's dagger brushes and they are amazing for leaves and petals. They are not that crazy fluffy.

[lovemybirds]

Hi Emma, I have that exact dagger brush and I love it for painting super thin lines like hair. I challenged myself to get to know it better too. I ended up painting a horse using only my dagger and paynes grey with a smidge of sepia. It turned out better than expected. Plug on and get to know it. It is worth it

[marciamcgrath]

I have a dagger brush but it is much smaller and not as fluffy, so it's easier to control. Thanks for showing the nice petal and leaf shapes that you can get with it. Also a nice fine line.

[GingahSnapsArt]

Everything comes with a learning curve! Thank you for not shying away from that. Your flowers came out lovely.

I've had a few dagger brushes - one or two that I've loved, and one or two that I've haaaated. They really aren't "one size fits all" .. but I'm glad these worked out well for you!

[simasartclub]

I love this brush. It is so good for long lines like palm leaves or touch down florals. It also depends which side you are using. Thanks for sharing 😊❤

[rebeccastrong]

Thank you, Emma, for showing us and giving us the courage to press on and challenge ourselves with new experiences on our art journey!

[MarcellHobbs]

Thanks for sharing your frustrations using a new, unfamiliar tools. Your petals and leaves look beautiful. The frustration comes from lack of control in that you didn’t see what you expected. It kinda takes you back to your beginnings. I loved painting with your January subscription box and look forward to receiving my February box ❤️

[denisevuono]

Thank you for demonstrating the dagger brush. I have had my eye on purchasing one. After watching your demo I may give it a go. I feel it may help me with not laying down too much paint on the first layer with my flowers. I think it will challenge me to also use my wrist more in the painting process. Thanks for all the great information that you share.

[annamaria-ywez]

Your flowers are amazing! Thank you for the lesson 😊