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The second #2 brush.



Normally I'm ok with whatever sable blends I pick up at the art store. There's rarely any true duds (I do check them before purchasing). Although my standards are pretty low. I mean, I'm buying cheap, store-brand blends, not Series 7s or anything. Still, I got this one particular lot of Utrecht #2s with the absolute sharpest points ever. These two or three brushes are absolutely perfect: sharp, great action... the works.

It's always a pleasure when I come upon one in my run of brushes. In fact, I'd rather use those than a pen — and I can use them for pen-fine lines. Of course, the more work I do, the more often I'll get those brushes. I should take a picture of the brushes to better explain this.

Anyway, the next step actually is the pen. There's no way I'm using a brush for Charles' beard, because the tight curls would ruin the shape of the brush. Also, there's some short, tight lines I need to do, and that wouldn't be the best use of brush.