The long handle is the first thing to understand about this brush. Short-handled brushes are made for working close, with your hand near the surface — homework at a table, watercolour on a pad. A long handle is made for standing back from a canvas at an easel, holding the brush further down and painting from the shoulder rather than the fingers.

That changes what you paint. Working close, you see the corner you are in. Working at arm's length, you see the whole picture while you paint it, which is why every serious canvas painter uses long handles and why beginners who buy short ones end up with paintings that are tight in the middle and loose at the edges.

System 3 is Daler-Rowney's acrylic range, and this flat is built for it: firm enough to move acrylic, which is thicker and stickier than watercolour, and springy enough to snap back to a square edge after each stroke rather than staying splayed.

Five sizes are offered — 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 — each sold on its own. The 2 and 4 are for detail and edges within a canvas, the 6 and 8 do the majority of the work, and the 10 blocks in larger areas without becoming a wash brush.

Each handle is black with a bright yellow band at the ferrule, printed DALER ROWNEY with system3 and the size number, in a long-handled length. The ferrule is a pressed metal collar holding the head in a flat square.

Prices run from Rs. 2,200 for size 2 up to Rs. 4,015 for size 10, each listed separately below. Cash on Delivery is available across Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, and stock, city and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

Why this product is worth considering