I’ve had the same brushes from pretty much the beginning. The one I’ve been using the most is one of the smallest, size 0, especially for the hummingbird recently. I do think I’m slowly improving in technique. Because I have to locate a local source of a specific kind of paper, right now I’m just using cold press watercolor paper which doesn’t allow some of the specific techniques of Chinese brush painting.
All my life I’ve jumped from one type of art to another. During one summer when I was between jobs, I tried “scratch art.” It involves using a paper that’s white underneath with a top layer of black ink. Then I used an X-acto knife and scratched off the ink.
Sandi