This is how I got good at painting, and how you can too.

[@dadozilla]

Couple things I forgot to mention in the video: - I'm talking about larger paintings, 16x20 and up, or around that size. - If you're worried about not being able to "work from the shoulder" when painting small, that's really only an issue if you go smaller than 6x8. I'm also not saying "ONLY paint small", just to try doing that too, as an exercise. You can still paint big if you want to. - The smaller you go, the more the focus will be on simplifying things and working mostly with big shapes. I've worked this way on paintings that ranged from 3x4 inches to 9x12 inches. Experiment and see what works! - Limiting other things can help make this process easier. Stick to only 1-2 brushes and use a limited color palette so you don't get lost having to figure out what brush to pick or what color to use. Also, use photo reference so you can skip the "what the heck am I going to paint" part. Just find something you like and paint that, you can change it up a bit if you'd like. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments!

[@ezfitchick]

It's so true. If you can paint a small painting of 5X7, 8X10, 8x8, or 6x6 daily, you'll get that practice under your belt. I have kept them for a while and looked at them and realized what I have learned - You will stop over thinking.

[@dadozilla]

Absolutely! Stops the overthinking, the perfectionism, the fear of starting, there are so many positive things that come from doing this that go beyond the skill improvements :)

[@EC-lq3qw]

Wow! Between your excellent video and the astonishing comments, I've learned more in the last half hour than in the last 20 years! I'm 72 and have always just pottered about with painting. Sold a few in my time but never really took it seriously. No regrets. My eyes have been opened now to a whole new way of spending my time and having fun. Thank you all for sharing such wonderful experience and wisdom, it is very much appreciated by this 'potterer'. From a very wet and windy Scotland I wish you all well.

[@dadozilla]

Thank you so much, so glad to hear that. Yeah there's a lot of really good insights in the comments, I learned a lot myself! Sending my own well wishes to you from a very dry Southern California haha

[@gordmacdonald9711]

Tha mi an dòchas gum bi margaidhean tuathanaich ann an Alba cuideachd !

[@13hehe]

This is definitely the way to go :). I studied briefly with classically trained painters at an atelier, and did colour studies. Those studies are way harder to nail than one can imagine. But they are necessary to learn colour harmony.

[@dadozilla]

Color studies (studies of all kinds really) are such a great way to practice! And yeah, definitely harder than they may appear to be

[@pchabanowich]

Because I have seen artists paint small oil sketches, it seems that they use the ones that worked well as the basis of larger works. Because my studio space is small, I decided to restrict the size of these, my beginner's sketches, noting as well the cost in materials is hugely reduced, and like you, I just cannot wrap my heart around spending two years on one painting, and like you, the exploration of many subjects becomes possible and we know the magic of being led down some delightful garden paths in pursuit of some intangible dream. Your style was a grand instruction, for as you fleshed out your thesis, you created a sweet small portrait of so much which delights us who love to get behind the wheel and come to a place of pure natural beauty and regard it with a skillful eye. 💐

[@dadozilla]

Yeah plenty of artists do that, particularly a lot of plein air painters, since painting large on location can be a hassle (then you have people like Ryan Jensen - he's on YT, check him out too - who paints larger on location than I do at home lol). Exactly, you get to explore so many more possibilities, and if they happen to not work out (which will often be the case in the early stages) it won't be as heartbreaking as if you'd put dozens of hours and half your paint supply into it. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video AND the painting :)

[@HenrikLaurell]

Did not know this, but still bought small board canvasses, but for me because of the price. Good to know I am on the right track. Painted acrylics for years but this autumn for the first time are trying to actually improve and not just have fun. Love this new approach to painting, it makes it even more enjoyable and feel very fresh.

[@gordmacdonald9711]

I got Masonite so I could crop with a knife. I kept to standard sizes, 5/7, 8/10,6/8 and 11/14 so they could be cheaply framed. I put inexpensive frames on them because a framer used to sell "ends" of mouldings and turned them into standard sizes.... like the ones I was painting. I then had a scale of 1-10. Less than 5 and it got destroyed, fixed up or painted over. I then took the results to a farmers market and rented a table for 35 bucks and put 12-20 small paintings in a table to sell. ( $150, $300, and $450) They started to sell and I actually made a living for 3 years selling 250 originals,got commissions and contacts from people who wanted larger versions. If something didnt get noticed, it was GONE. I was paid to learn how to paint and my 1-10 scale started to get better and better. I made a living of 6-8s. I did some larger stuff but didnt take it to the market. A gallery approached me and I kept the small ones for the market and the larger ones went to the gallery. After 3 years, I gave all of my work to the gallery AND my contacts. Ive had 21 solo shows with the gallery since and she has sold over 1000 paintings of mine both large and small. I still have my 1-10 scale and I still do 4s and 5s/destroy %20 of what I paint/experiment with. Ive made a living with only a paintbruch for 24 years now.

[@dadozilla]

Wow that's such an inspiring story! Also I did a quick google search and your work is amazing, not surprising it sold well. I only recently started getting more serious about actively selling my work, so there's a lot in your comment that I can take from, thank you for sharing. Also the 1-10 scale is a great idea, I have learned to paint over paintings I don't like, but many of them are still sitting in a box, I should go through them and repurpose them with that in mind. Smaller paintings are probably easier to sell too, especially at local fairs/markets, I imagine most people wouldn't want to be carrying around a 24x36 canvas, plus people at smaller events like those are probably not in the mindset to spend a lot of money. Different story for galleries, of course. I appreciate the comment!

[@gordmacdonald9711]

@@dadozilla If you do try a farmers market you will realize a couple of things. A) you will have little of no competition because most artists wont risk being in front of the public like that OR think its beneath them. B) People with the means to buy a painting are likely too busy to go to a gallery. Some cities have galleries that are only open during the day or "by appointment".... nobody has time. C) People who have means always,always eat well and that means they will take a couple of hours a week to shop for food. Thats where YOU come in. They dont know they want a painting but they do know they want french bread or organic carrots. You MUST have everything ready to hang because they are NOT going to a framer, they have no time. I am still staggered by where some of my small paintings ended up. Not in "collections" but on walls of people who own collections, only because they had a few hours to spend at a farmers market on Saturday. Their collections will go to museums, my work will go to their loved ones because it was remembered to be in their hall/office/bedroom.... Many will just get passed to a relative or sold in a yard sale. I dont care, I made a living. Added bonus, artists work alone and the market buyers likely only talk to their own bubbles at work. You can both get a reprieve and have great conversations once a week.. Most of all , YOU will get better and better. You see what works and what gets ignored. What YOU think is an 8 may actually only be a 6. Sometimes even your actal 8 will get no reaction and people fall all over the 6.Just paint them! Its an honest feedback, take it or leave it. You will also walk away with nothing sometimes and even THAT is a positive. You have to see it over a month or a year. BTW: Masonite and gesso is cheap. More than a few times one of my 11/14s got cropped to an 8/10 or 6/8 and only THEN sold. :)

[@Bearwithme560]

Good on you! I've solely been painting small, mostly 5x7, in watercolour since l started two years ago, as a way of reaching out to people and old friends with a meaningful gift. My skills have vastly improved thanks to this, and no one noticed that what they getting was amateurish - they were just happy to be worthy of the effort. Now l see small paintings as often exquisite little jewels.

[@dadozilla]

@@gordmacdonald9711 VERY good points and tips, and yes, discovering what people like compared to what you think people will like is extremely valuable and so interesting to see. For me, almost all the paintings I didn't think were anything special ended up being those people loved. And I'm with you, I'm more interested in being able to support myself doing this, than knowing my art is in some fancy gallery. You've inspired me to do it, I have a big document with dozens of craft fairs and farmer's markets in my area, I'll be looking into what their requirements are and start reaching out to the organizers. On a side note , I think YOU may need to make some videos about this! KZbin is filled with "how to make money with art" videos from people who *didn't* make money with art but just googled ways to do it and made a video about it. I and certainly many others would love to hear from someone who has actually gone through the process. I know it's time consuming, but you know.. just a thought ;)

[@Bearwithme560]

@@gordmacdonald9711 The psychology behind this is so interesting!

[@michaellornie7910]

I wish my art teacher had told me that when I first started painting and I went big . Luckily I realized and now stick to 8 by 10 and have now finished 30 of them in a short space of time, I am now going to pick out the better of those smaller paintings and transfer to a larger painting for an Art Competition

[@dadozilla]

That’s awesome, good luck, I hope you get it accepted! And yeah it’s nice to be able to produce so many pieces of work, it also REALLY helps with figuring out what you like and what you don’t :)

[@Aarabal]

Love the energy the joy ❤

[@hopeinart-design]

New subscriber here! I'm so glad your video showed up in recommendations. My health has been holding me back from painting, and the more I overthink, the weaker I feel. But I won’t let it stop me. As an aspiring artist, I've been learning through video tutorials and books. I'm excited to keep learning and sharing what I’ve learned to inspire others. I'll continue painting on a smaller scale and stop overthinking about painting larger. Your advice has truly inspired me to just keep painting! Thank you!

[@dadozilla]

Happy to have you here! And I’m so flattered to hear that, I’m a big overthinker myself, both in art and in life, so you’re in good company haha painting smaller definitely helps with that because it takes away so much of the pressure you feel when taking on a bigger project, and it’s much easier to try new things that may not work out, because if they don’t it won’t be as big of a deal.

[@hopeinart-design]

@@dadozilla Thank you so much! It’s really comforting to know I’m not alone in overthinking😄especially when it comes to both art and life! I love the idea of painting smaller, it really does take off a lot of the pressure. I’m excited to explore new things without the fear of failure being so overwhelming. Appreciate your insight and the warm welcome🤗

[@ronkoster]

Thank you for the inspiration and not to give up hope. I didn't know if I would ever get better at painting. But now I'm trying again. Greetings from the Netherlands. Ron.

[@dadozilla]

You're welcome, I'm glad you found it motivating! I didn't start painting until I was 29 and used to feel the same way, but it's really just a skill like any other. Yeah some people will have a better eye for color, or composition, or have more creative ideas, but I'm convinced anyone can get good at it if they can push past the early stages (when you're just bad and you feel like giving up), learn from good resources and practice the right way, and always strive to get better. Good luck if you do try this again, you got this! And I'll have more videos to help people just starting out with things so maybe those will help :)

[@ronkoster]

@@dadozilla Thank you Sir.

[@CreatingwithSemaj]

So appreciated this video. I can't agree more @2:24 you are absolutely correct, the more you do the better you get. I appreciate that @2:48 you talk about not all of them will be horrible. Some might be good, and when you see what worked, take that into the next piece. It's those little A-ha moments that allow us to grow, though they only seem to show up when you do a whole lot of paintings. @5:00 I can't agree more with those three tips. They are a total game changer in how you will grow as an artist. It's remarkable to see the growth. Some folks like you say spend a week on one painting, when instead they might have over 20 or more in that same time to see one's own style emerge. That's why you want to paint so much to see find a style. @9:21, It's a hack that just works and I appreciate so much that you took the time to make this brilliant cogent delivery of a very important subject for growth as an artist. Finished with a lovely piece of art too.😉

[@dadozilla]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it and that you liked the painting! Yeah even as a beginner you'll sometimes end up with a nice painting, which is why it helps to make more, smaller paintings. Higher chances of striking gold. It's especially useful for those who don't have a lot of time to practice. I often see people who wonder how they could possibly get better if they work a 9-5, have kids, and only have 30-60 minutes a day to practice. This is how!

[@CreatingwithSemaj]

@@dadozilla EXACTLY! It's the small investments that always give the best returns.

[@jeanettemarkley7299]

I started watercolor years ago but, I stopped after awhile. I don't exactly remember why, but I did do an actual painting, and I worked so hard to learn as much as I did, maybe I just ran out of gas. I looked at the product, deemed it OK and left watercolor alone for 7 years. Now my husband has joined me and I paint much smaller things. He has taught me too, because he just wings it and has fun. I hope to be more like him in time.

[@annenglish2935]

I stopped painting watercolor 2 years ago after painting for only 2 years!!! Health issues ... Perfectionism has prevented me starting over!!! I watch watercolor videos every day... still buy supplies!!! The artists I watch all have fun ... no matter what level they're at! I need to be playful!!!🎉 A California Gramma ❤

[@CreatingwithSemaj]

He's wrapped up in the JOY of the process not attached to the outcome it seems. It's the play we want in the. journey of art, there is where the magic just seems to happen. Glad you're both doing it together, sounds like your both enjoying the journey.

[@jeanettemarkley7299]

@@CreatingwithSemaj We are. We have been on a journey together for over 30 years. Now that we are retired we spend most of our time together and with our dogs.

[@dadozilla]

That's awesome that you got back to it! Never too late to start again, and sounds like your husband has a good approach to it. Just having fun with the process is surprisingly difficult when you're thinking about improving, but it's so helpful!

[@anahidpaichuk7446]

Finally someone said things that makes lots of sense and I’ve truely experienced those problems, thanks heaps 🙏👍🙌🙌🙌

[@dadozilla]

You're welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@jamminwolfie]

You hit it to the point, and I know exactly what you're talking about. As an experienced artist in the past, I've learned what you're talking about. I used to draw as a kid, got into harmonica playing as a young adult, computer art programs, 3D art, writing as an older adult, and finally most recently, acrylic painting (airbrush and brush). My art sucked in the beginning, and you know what? Art doesn't stop with a paintbrush, it's music, it's singing, and other talents, beginners are, well... beginners. Start small, start simple, ask questions, take advises, watch videos, practice, practice, practice! If you want to get there, you will. Thanks for sharing this, mate!

[@dadozilla]

So cool that you got into so many different things! And you're right, I'm convinced that most people can learn how to paint, sculpt, sing, play an instrument, etc. as long as they're consistent, learn from good sources and practice the right way. It's all just skills, talent is mostly an excuse for not trying.

[@MountainsOceans]

Excellent practical advice!

[@dadozilla]

Thank you, glad you found it useful!

[@budh8505]

Thanks for the advice, just starting my journey. I’ve been learning the most by fixing mistakes. I cringe looking at older paintings that I thought were good at the time. Thanks for the video.

[@dadozilla]

My pleasure! Making mistakes and learning from them is absolutely key, so you're on the right track :) Good luck!

[@Mah_Sh_ell]

I had issues with layers and blending… Great advice… Thank you✨

[@dadozilla]

You're welcome, glad it helped! 😊

[@triconcert]

I'm painting large and what you say is true even though I have 50 years' painting experience. Valuable advice I think!

[@dadozilla]

Good to hear! I have to admit, part of the reason why I embraced the smaller practice was so I wouldn't drown in paintings given my small space haha but as it turns out doing that did have plenty of other benefits.

[@lcdesigns6145]

Agree. Would subscribe to more ytubers if they got right to their point and then use fewer words to make their point. 😊

[@dadozilla]

@@lcdesigns6145 haha I hate those videos so I do my best to avoid it in mine. Plus I tend to ramble and get sidetracked a lot, so making videos is good practice for avoiding that, otherwise they'd end up being an hour long lol

[@raymondli3173]

I paint in watercolor. I practice what you said when I first stayed. In fact, I do not know how to paint big in watercolor. I learned rather quickly by painting small. Now, when I want to paint big, it is so much harder to paint in big especially for watercolor. I came to a conclusion, it is neither good to paint too tiny, nor too big. For me, and I think the optimize size to paint in watercolor is around A4. Big enough to scan the whole paper in normal viewing distance, but not too small such that the brush stroke will have harder transition to big later on.

[@dadozilla]

Yeah it can be a double edged sword, you definitely should work larger too as you progress, but this was especially referring to people who are really just getting started :) Also, to be fair, watercolors (and gouache) are much tricker to use on a larger scale than oils or acrylics. I’m with you, when I painted with those mediums I don’t think I ever painted larger than A4 either.

[@kitchencarvings4621]

You are right. It works great. I am starting to paint watercolor again after many years, and I found myself anxious to sit down to paint. So I made a 4 by six-inch template out of some card stock and I lay out 6 rectangles on a piece of paper and draw my scene 6 times and then I paint them one at a time. I make mistakes and fix them in the next painting. If I mess up really bad it's a good thing because now I don't have to worry about messing up anymore and I can experiment and be more bold. By the end of the sixth painting I have learned a lot. Another great thing is it forces you to loosten up since you can't put much detail in a painting that small. You have to prioritize and find the important shapes.

[@dadozilla]

Yes to all that! Especially the simplification part, that's actually one of the reason I started painting small. I used to get lost in the details too early in the process, and felt that my work wasn't as loose as I wanted it to be. So I decided to push hard the opposite direction, by making it so I physically COULDN'T paint details and so I HAD TO loosen up (with big brushes, timers, etc). Also making mistakes and fixing them in the next painting is a great way to do improve too, you're doing all the things I did when I got into painting haha

[@Janelle-p2i]

I work with a digital touch pad that is very small, and I like to rush through many images, deleting and starting again, and your right I am advancing very quickly as a result. I w😂anted to thank you for your painting today it was very inspiring. I can't wait to get back to work, so great work you got a like from me.

[@dadozilla]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I used to do the same with my ipad mini, I'd just make different paintings on separate layers and sometimes blow one up and use it as the base for a larger painting, it's a good way to get some practice done :)

[@kimranson4775]

❤❤TY This is just what I needed. The comments are so helpful as well.

[@dadozilla]

Glad to hear it! 😊

[@2jston]

Very good advice!

[@dadozilla]

Glad you think so!

[@richardhaas1989]

I paint digitally but as close to traditional methods as possible. Thank you for the digital tip!

[@dadozilla]

You're welcome! I did the same when I painted digitally, it's really useful for when you want to work with actual paint because you won't feel as lost :)

[@albertlopez03]

Thank you so much for this valuable knowledge

[@dadozilla]

You're welcome, I hope it helps! 😊

[@nelsonx5326]

Good idea. I like to paint on 1/8 " thick Masonite panels, 8 1/2" x 11". Not tiny, but small enough. And have a dozen of them going at once on a single large table. No idea in my head, just playing with paint.

[@dadozilla]

Funny you say that because I'm literally in the process of gessoing some 10x12 masonite panels myself haha that's a great way to go about it and I often start my paintings that way. Just throw paint around and see where it takes you.

[@nelsonx5326]

@@dadozilla Very good to hear from you. That is good advice you gave. Another thing I like about doing smaller paintings is being able to take it all in at once. See it as a whole, not a bunch of sections. And if something works it can be done bigger, and you already have a healthy working sketch. I don't even gesso the panels. Usually I splash very thinned out acrylics on the panels and keep doing that for many layers. I do 8 1/2 X 11" panels because I can get standard frames for them at the Dollar Store. I've put nice frames on paintings only to have a potential client say it needs a real frame. I figure I'm in the doing paintings business, not in the buying expensive frames business.

[@paulhedman7387]

This is great advice.

[@dadozilla]

Thank you, glad you think so!

[@teacup3133]

Thank you that is great advice

[@dadozilla]

Glad it was helpful!

[@incognito3620]

This is a valuable video for beginners. They take on too much.

[@dadozilla]

Glad you think so! It just pains me to see them put so much time and effort into something that is likely just going to frustrate them due to lack of skills. Of course if someone just wants to have fun, by all means, paint a whole building! But if the goal is to improve, it's kind of a waste of time and resources in my opinion. I'm often on Reddit helping people on various art communities and the amount of times I've seen beginners share work they had spent hours, weeks, months on, along with their frustration because they couldn't get it to look the way they wanted to, is more than I can count.

[@rickbroomhead3226]

Good advice.

[@dadozilla]

Glad you found it useful!

[@dqueenbee-ui7fl]

When I started art school they told us all that we needed to paint 1000 paintings in order to get any good at it. It sounds outrageous, as we thought at the time, but really, the point of it was you have to work at it. Fifty years later I think I am a good painter, not brilliant but I know my craft.

[@dadozilla]

It really does just take time and practice, no real secret to it :)

[@MariaTeresaBugeja]

very good advice!!!!

[@dadozilla]

Thanks for watching!

[@SherieRodrigues]

I like that one word Ed, mileage, love it. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@dadozilla]

Thank you Sherie, I’m glad you think so! I think it’s a good way to describe the process, you really just need to cover enough distance to get to each milestone until you reach your destination.. except the destination keeps getting farther and farther away as you set your sight on bigger and bigger improvements haha

[@samstewart9249]

You folks can buy that if you wish, but experience has taught me that larger works take more detail as they are viewed at from longer distances than smaller ones. Also think that scaling up requires larger tools (brushes) unless one wants to spend forever on a painting. So my opinion is no, painting larger is not the same!

[@dadozilla]

You’re disagreeing with points I didn’t make or even really suggest. I never said painting larger is the same as painting small, I said that the key to a good painting is in its foundations, which can be practiced with paintings of any size. Detail, unlike what many beginners seem to believe, isn’t one of the things that will make or break a painting. No amount of detail will hide a bad composition, or bad values, but when those things are solid you can paint very little detail and still have a good painting. That’s one of the reasons why squinting is such a common and useful technique, because it allows artists to “erase” the details and focus on what’s truly important. Larger work may or may not require more detail (it’s a matter of what your style looks like after all), but more detail doesn’t automatically make a painting better. It’s absolutely worth practicing larger paintings too, but jumping straight to 30x40 canvases when you don’t even know how to mix the color green is not going to help, and neither is making 10 paintings a year because you’re working and reworking each one for weeks on end due to not understanding the basics. Make 10 paintings a week, practice those basics in hundreds of different scenarios, and in a year that 30x40 painting will be look 100x better and take 10x less effort. Leave the details for when a painting is worth adding them.

[@Daneiladams555]

I got lucky, my first paintings were good, ive always been a painter just didnt know it

[@dadozilla]

That’s awesome! Hey if it works it works, no need to question it haha

[@yarrowbumblefoot8877]

Well said. I've just now subscribed.

[@seanfaherty]

I’m 54,nearing the end of my art journey. There is still some sucking

[@dadozilla]

To be fair, I don't think that ever stops lol I reached the goals I had in mind when I first started, then realized it wasn't enough and I could be much better. Then I surpassed those goals, but still feel like I have to improve. I think it's a never-ending thing, the better you get, the better you realize you can be

[@nicholASrosser-u9p]

you should have called this video 'ART FOR OLIGARCHS'

[@dadozilla]

I really tried my best, but cannot figure out how this would be of interest to rich people attaining political power..

[@briantaulbee6452]

Bob Ross never gave better advice.

[@dadozilla]

Thank you, flattered to hear that. Next video I’m getting a perm 😄

[@Rage_Harder_Then_Relax]

Sounds like a lot of money down the drain. Wasted paints, wasted paper, wasted art supplies of all types. Sounds like a lot of money wasted altogether.

[@dadozilla]

Anyway, enough about how your parents feel about having raised you, what did you think of the video??