a friend of mine actually does that 😂 she sketches everything everywhere, and so quickly! Unsurprisingly she’s an illustrator and animator by profession
This year we had to sit and wait an emergency for a family member. Pulled out my small sketchbook and painted the time away (they were ok). Started making my own sketchbook so I could use Arches watercolor paper when wanted. Your channel helped me use the watercolor brushes,because I would take several of my preferred brushes with me and paper towel with an oil painters tin cup, water and clips and other things. Now just use the water brushes I learned from your channel. Thank you, it made all the difference. Get to carry less, draw and paint everywhere.😊👍
I'm not sure why some people don't like water brushes. I also learned from Pete how handy they are and now I use them about as often as the regular brushes
That's great! I'm glad I could help. When my first nephew was born I sat in the waiting room using an 8x5 stillman and birn hardbound sketchbook. I do like to go small but I have my limits. 🙂 And I love making my own sketchbooks. I have a zutter bind-it-all and I've made a bunch in the past. I also love the idea of creating a book with the exact paper you want. 👍🏻
Oh man... you should have been outside painting that's the point of them, travel and paint at your local grocery shop😅😂. Loved the little guy you got in the first drawing!
Thanks bud! I did take this kit outside for a little nature painting. They're so small I kept dropping them every few minutes. My legs got a nice workout though. It's a new trend called art-robics. I think I'll start a club. 😂
I don't mind the small palettes but those micro palettes have to go. I also enjoy my 3.5 x 5.5 Stillman and Birn. But I took these other 2 outside and they are so small that they are awkward to use. I ended up dropping them constantly. It wasn't fun. Now, backpacking through the Caribbean, that sounds like a good time. 👍🏻
I actually carry that small sketchbook along with a pen in my purse. I doodle in it when I'm waiting at the doctor's or it was wonderful when i had jury duty and id doodle in it when waiting. It's lasted me like five years lol it is about time to get a new one.
I found it to hard to hold. Between that and this tiny palette, I spent half the time outside bending over to pick them up off the ground. So I guess it's a good exercise sketchbook set up. 😂
I'm glad you got along with it. I took these 2 outside and just kept dropping them. They are awkward to work with for me. I need something like that second book I used and maybe one of the small normal tins.
I am watching what you are drawing and listening to you ramble. It's inspiring me a lot,. This happens to me so often, it feels like everyone else knows what they're doing, but I'm the only one drawing without knowing what I'm doing. That's why listening to you puts me at ease.
Thank you! I'm glad I can help. I almost never know what I'm going to end up with. Most of the time I'm just focused on composition. Then I fill in the shape with colors and lines. I appreciate you. 🙂
I think your channel is fun. I do small paintings because I can do one in a few minutes on busy days and still finish what I'm doing. I also frame my minis and give them as gifts. I can give away artwork that costs me almost nothing. They can be fun to do. The smallest work I've done is 2.5" x 3". The largest is 16"x 20" in watercolor. I've done much larger oil paintings. I can't really use oils anymore because I have asthma. I do miss them though. Fun rant. Great end to a boring day. 😁
Thank you! I think that 5x5 book will be a regular go-to for me. I do enjoy how quickly a piece can get done. Giving out little mini paintings is a great idea. 👍🏻
You'll never catch me using a tiny book with a tiny palette but I have to say I love your second and third little paintings. The smallest book I have right now is 7 x 5 inches and I practice eyes or some little thing, not a full painting. I prefer 8 x 12 or close to it for a full painting. I like to do portraits or animals. Haha, I put this little stroke here and ...... lol. I'm one of those who watch and listen to you and enjoy it.
I have the small Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook and a pencil case and they live in my lunch bag. I sketch on my lunch break. And they are thumbnails and ideas. I like a small size because it has a small footprint on the table and I can hide behind my lunch tote and no one bothers me in the break room. If I use a larger sketchbook people will notice and then want to talk to me. I don’t carry watercolors with me but I do have a couple of gray Tombows and a waterbrush for shading and shadows if I’m feeling fancy. since I have limited time on my break I don’t worry too much about anything too wet because I don’t have time for it to dry. It’s nice to completely checkout and draw for 10 minutes. Nice video! Nice work on trying something new even if it isn’t your cup of tea.
I'm glad you brought that up. I love my Stillman and Birn 3.5 x 5.5 Nova gray book which uses the same alpha paper just toned gray. It is a portrait orientation so I can open it and get a 7 x 5.5 inch surface to work on. I always keep it in my work bag as well as a small pen case and I love to do some quick sketching in it. I don't mind that but this first book in the video was too small and chunky. It just wasn't for me.I just have a line that I can't cross otherwise I feel more frustrated than creative. 👍🏻
Pete, you just keep being you. I enjoy your content, your rants & rambles keep me entertained. I must often find myself smiling if not out right chuckling! Love your channel... informative & fun!
I love your rambling and your work. I'm perfectly content to watch your process while you entertain me with commentary on all manner of things. Thank you for what you do!
Keep up the rants! I so enjoy your humor and look forward to your videos. I watch and listen. 😎 For painting on the go, I carry a cheap 6x8 wire bound journal in my bag. I like that the cover folds under and the hard cover makes it stable in my lap. I've tried smaller, but don't seem to stick with the smaller format. I generally like mint tins for my paint and I have one with a sponge cut to fit, topped with a little fabric pouch I sewed with water beads inside, and covered it in a scrap of t-shirt that I turned into paint rags months ago. My "big tin" is a tin that a cell phone screen protector came in, it holds a lot of pans. I just take a few out and stick them in the blotter mint tin to paint (I use magnets on my pans). I put my water brushes, pencils, pen, and small tins in a travel makeup brush pouch. The whole kit fits in my travel bag with my usual daily items. I carry a small art bag with a long strap rather than a traditional purse. I need a rugged bag for my job.
Thank you! Sounds like a nice setup. I tried with this little tin but I kept dropping it. I need something slightly bigger. I enjoy my small tin but this one was too small. 👍🏻
i have a little handmade backpack devoted to my travel supplies (one or two pocket books and half a dozen tins of pens, pencils, and the artist trading card kit). the smallest i have gone is 5x7. the grocery store is a bit much but i do drag that bag with me to the park when the kids want to go or my mother in laws in visit day. i do have a fold out paint pallet, it's not my favorite. the concept is marvelous (full pan surface) but the paint is cheap (it cracks and is less than 1/4in thick to start). i use .003, takes a very delicate touch. my average page is 9 x 12 as well. it's your show, talk about what ever you want 😂 i do, what ever pops into my head at the time. i tell people i am not a teacher, my page is for my friends who just wanted to know what i was doing.
That's a great idea. I used to have a travel bag with art supplies in them but I would always go take stuff out of it so it ended up being empty until the next time I went out and had to fill it again. 😂 Now I just prepare before I go out. 👍🏻
I do that sometimes at family gatherings but only to be antisocial. Sometimes they discuss the most boring subjects that would put me to sleep if I didn't find something interesting to do. 😂
Echoing what other folks have said. Pete, just keep on being you. As for going large or small, I do both, but it depends on the medium being used. The largest work I've done was painted with acrylics and that was a mural on the staff room wall of one of my past workplaces. The smallest I work on is A6 with encaustic waxes. I haven't worked on anything smaller, yet. I do keep a few pencils and a battered A5 sketchbook in my bag though for passing time on long journeys. I don't drive so I rely on my feet and public transport.
I have always admired murals but I could never see myself doing one. I always want to put time into the details and on something that big I'd get lost. I also have a need for completion so something that takes more than 1 or 2 sessions is too much. A5 is a good travel book. 👍🏻
@@IllustrationsByPete I know what you mean about needing to complete things, the mural painting kept me sane during the covid lockdowns. Couldn't go out anywhere during my lunchbreaks so I painted the wall instead, 30-45 mins at a time, 5 days a week over six months. I'll try and stick a photo up of it on your website's forum.
Your 'rants' are full of truth, keep the faith brother. Btw, I love the Montval line😂. (Great for water soluble and watercolor markers.) I have one of those teeny sketchbooks, it kept slipping out of my hand so it's on the shelf. Some of those regular sketchbooks will surprise you when throwing watercolor on them. You did it, great art. I even like that abstract paper towel.
I will admit, I used to think the same thing. What a joke this mini crap was to me. Until i started doing it. An old friend challenged me to try it and I found myself becoming a better watercolor artist because i had to create the impression of details. I had to create the impression of texture instead of actually painting and drawing the detail & texture. If you can create depth, texture, details in a1 inch square then by God you can do it in any size.
I can appreciate that. I'm sure it did help. For me, the enjoyment comes from painting the textures and detail. If I didn't have that I wouldn't want to create. 👍🏻
I always love listening to you talk! Great video! A tiny palette and sketchbook would hurt my weak wrists, so I've never tried them. I admire anyone who's able to make stuff with them though. lol.
My favorite sketchbook size is A4 and A3. I never liked the smaller sketchbook, I feel like it limits my movements and my imagination. The same thing with canvas, my favorite size are 36x36 or 36x48. I always like how you say what a lot of us think Pete! Stay original, it's refreshing.
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂 I can't go too big. I enjoy smaller details and if I had something big I'd spend so much time on it that it would take me forever to finish. Usually 9x12 is good enough for me but I'd rather go bigger than smaller.
@@IllustrationsByPete I understand, I'm disabled and I'm home all day long. My art is what keeps me occupied. I have nothing but time. I have 5x8, 5x5 sketchbook and I use them to swatch colors or do mixes. Their is no right or wrong way to use art supplies, but we all have our favorites and that what's makes us all unique. 🤓
do your paints not get all stuck together facing each other like that? I’d put a small sheet of plastic (eg from a cut up old plastic wallet) or yupo in between to keep the paints from getting stuck together. Also good to use as a makeshift mixing surface when on the go! I often use old yupo sheets as extra mixing surfaces when I am travelling
I’ve used the tins with each inside covered with wc paper. On the top I painted a small landscape. On the bottom I put dabs of each color that I used. They make sweet little gifts. As a palette I think they’re too small also. Fun video.
Hahnemuhle mini zigzag would be perfect for this. Ordered tin for me & a friend. Think I will go back and get 2 zig zags. Merry Christmas to me. Also printed out your supply. Might be some big Black Friday shopping in my future. Going to use my DaVinci Perylene Green-it's fantastic. Last picture is a peacock snail storm trooper.
My favorite way to paint is gigantic, like wall murals or any other not-normal surface. It's super fun but also it hides the twitchiness and jerkiness I'm prone to, which shows a LOT in the smaller paintings. Even before nerve damage though I always preferred murals, there's nothing as satisfying to me as having to step back to see what you're working on and getting to see the literal big picture 😊
I keep my palette, water brush, pen, pencil, ect in a pill bottle 😅 the whole kit fits (besides paper). It works really well for me. My pallet is a split primary set + black and brown. I primarily work about business card size because that's what sparks joy and is relatively easy to do, for example, in a parked car.
How big are those pills? 😳 I'm glad you enjoy it. Everyone likes something different. I have the same issue with going too big as I do going too small. I'm just a middle of the road type of guy. 🙂
I recently purchased an A4 sketchbook with multimedia paper for a year long art program. Being someone that typically uses 5”x7” watercolor books this was a huge challenge. The damn thing is daunting. Every time I need to start a new page I hit a wall. Most pages are a collection of sketches or paintings and creating a small sketch is hard. Even a 5”x7” effort only fills less than 25% of the page. I hope to get to the point that I can create those beautiful journal pages that I see in all those “beginner” friendly videos by the end of the year.
Don't worry about it. Screw the pretty sketchbooks. Do what you do and fill up each page with beautiful small sketches. Paste in inspirational quotes and photos. Figure out a way to arrange them so all together they make up a nice composition. At least, that's how I would look at it. I can't go big all the time it's too overwhelming and would take me too long to complete a piece so I'd make each page a group of pieces that flow together. Whatever you do make sure you are having fun. If you aren't having fun then you're doing it wrong. That's the only rule I follow. 😉
Pet portraits, I like 11x14 to allow for details. Doodles, however, 3x5ish so I can finish quickly and move on. Also fits in my purse 😆. And small supplies are just adorable. Lately I've done some 2.5x3 because I found mats on sale for $1. I'll send pics. :)
My sweet spot as far as a paper size, is like between 9x12, 11x14 and 12x16 ❤😊 for me, it’s hard to go like to 5x7 or smaller than that. Love you and your content Pete! Look forward to all your videos. Btw, where are you from? You remind me of my friends from New Jersey 😂love just listening to you talk tbh lol
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂 I'm originally from Long Island NY and I have some extended family in Jersey. I think 9 x 12 is the biggest for me. I like to put in too much smaller detail and I need to finish a piece in one to two sittings or I get frustrated. Everyone has their own thing. 👍🏻
I have a small pallet I filled it up with paints and never used it as it’s so inconvenient in reality who does ever paint on the go that’s what Facebook and instagram is for. Until this video I actually forgot about my small pallet I’ll go check if it’s still in the car with my tiny sketchbook 😂
For ATC (2.5 x 3.5 inches) exchanges with friends I cut larger sheets of cardstock or watercolor paper to that size and then stamp funny motifs onto them to color in. The smallest "paintings" were postoids but those were done mostly as a joke. My currently preferred sketchbook is about 4 x 5.5 inch. But the pans have to be at least half-pans 🙂
I've never been a part of any of those exchanges. I see how they are a good idea but I just never tried them. I could go small I just wouldn't enjoy it. I'd pull out my .001 fineliner and put in as much detail as I could. 😂
@@IllustrationsByPete "Wow, Pete, your ATC looks great - how long did it take you?" "Well, two minutes for the main motif and then about two days for the details..." 🤣
Huge fan of your rambling! Can’t stand those ppl who r always “and now I’m gonna do x or y”, super annoying! My usual size is 8.27 x 11.69, never bigger bc of the scanner, sometimes a little bit smaller, not much tho. Next year I’m getting a 36 full pans set (u guessed it, white nights lol) in plastic, so I can take it with me wherever, and that’s good for me, because what the heck, I don’t think tins are ideal, and I also own like three huge artisanal wooden based palettes, which in my opinion are not practical at all. Anyhow, bob ross rocks 🫶🫶
You have it all together. 👍🏻 Match your paper to your scanner ✔️ use full pans in your palette ✔️ use great watercolor ✔️ . And a Bob Ross fan, all good!
I just bought a 20" block of cold press from Meeden, and it's so big I am almost intimidated to use it, lol. I like seeing the small sketchbooks people use, but have not tried one yet.
Wow! Love to see that I'm not the only one frustrated with the tiny stuff! Just wondering if you could do a demo with the Viviva watercolor travel set. I just got one for Black Friday ... I'm really liking the powerful colors! :)
I have one of the wooden ones, but because of the hip replacement I haven’t gone out to paint. I think it will be fun, but I’ll let you know. I usually like smaller painting, 5x7 type size, I do use a 4x4 and I enjoy doing them. I’m not sure what too small is, but for just painting for fun…heck I’ll try about anything. LOL. Speaking of AI…that crap drives me nuts. 😂
Yes, i have a business card paint palette and a 3 x 5 booklet. I paint in it while the wife is at the dr.s or in the store. I'll sit in the car or the waiting room.
I do carry a 3.5 x 5.5 Stillman and Birn nova gray book. I love it. I usually open it to a 5.5 x 7 and that works great for me. But I took that smaller book and palette outside and I spent half the time picking it up off the floor because I kept dropping it. I like my small tin palette. But this one was just too awkward to hold and use.
Lol, no Pete, the smallest I’ll go for a sketchbook, watercolor journal is 5x6 or 6x6, approx. I have old eyes for heavens sake. Lol now I’ve created Altoid tin size palettes with no problem. One tin is some homemade granulating watercolors I made, a dozen pans. One is a mix of Schminke and White Nights granulating, and another is a mix. I made them up for travel, but mostly use them when I’m wanting to paint in my journals on the sofa with a tv tray. Some days setting up big paper and a bunch of full palettes is too much.
I’m with you on the whole Ai thing. Hate it with a venomous hate. Oh, back to the tiny sketchbook thing. Remember Zoolander’s tiny cell phone? Yeah, it’s like that.
😂 I do remember that. I think the small standard palette is the smallest I enjoy using. This one was too difficult to hold and I kept dropping it while I was outside. As much as I wanted to love it, I think I'm reverting back to my small tin palette.
@ Yeah, I don’t think mens’ hands are suited for tiny palettes. I don’t ever hold any of my palettes no matter the size. I’d get a cramp in my old fingers! I have to work on a surface/table. I like having a portable little palette for when I travel, or too lazy to set up at the table. And you had me rolling when you talked about the person painting in her tiny sketchbook with her tiny paints whilst checking out at the market. 🤣😂 Like, “look at me…I’m an arteeest and I can paint anywhere, because I’m that good!” I am fine with plein aire painting, or at the cafe or, on a road trip. But I can’t really plein aire much here in Texas. Heat, humidity, bugs flying into your paint or hair and face. Nope. 🙅🏼♀️
That's why I need to live where there is a decent winter cycle. Not cold enough to snow but cold enough to kill the bugs and I can go walk outside without the sun trying to kill me. I visited Dallas one summer in July. I don't think I could do it. I need a flat surface too. I made a portable one. I need to show it in a video. 👍🏻
@ yeah, we are in Central Texas, so hotter than Dallas and fewer tornadoes. But man, the annoying bugs. We lived in SW Missouri for 30+ years. I called it “Misery”! Lol Humid in the summer, ice and snow in the winter. Moved here to be closer to some of our grown kids. Yes please show us your table. I’d love to have my hubby build me a foldable and portable table. Maybe one that the legs slide under the sofa or a chair somehow. Gotta make that wood shop pay off. 🤣
Pete, you crack me up! I started a semi-secret RUclips channel a while ago (different account to this one) and I am not after world domination (or even monetisation) but my new goal is to get enough subscribers that I can ask you to collab one day because your humour is totally up my street!!
You don't need any number of subs. We're all a part of the same group here. I'm always happy to look at ideas. Let me know what you have in mind. When you think of it send me an email.
ha- so im cutting and signing dozens of tiny paintings i made for my students right now haha. but uh yeah expensive and minimalistic things, evolutionarily (im a prof) is a type of costly signaling. in nature and humans- this is usually risky behavior. But it also includes displays of things that are costly in other ways- monetarily, time consumption, and yes even convenience. minimalism in general is a signal of affluence bc it means you don't need all the extra other people need bc you can afford the best/ assistance/ time etc.
You are speaking to someone who loves fractals so I agree with you there. 👍🏻 But I do have a limit for me. I once saw some ridiculous things where people put messages on grains of rice. I'm not that guy. 😂
I refuse to apply extreme minimalism to painting. I like quill brushes and large flats. For me, little half-pans of paint are just ridiculous brush destroyers. I find it SO annoying to watch people digging around and around and around in those stupid half-pans to get enough paint just to make their next brush stroke. Full pans are as minimal as I'm willing to go, and even they annoy me sometimes. 8x10 or larger paper -- if I can't put some full arm juicy paint marks down, forget it.
that paper towel could actually be an artwork in its own right 😂
😂
Sketching and painting in line at the grocery store. Haha. That's freaking hilarious. I can actually see someone doing that.🤣
a friend of mine actually does that 😂 she sketches everything everywhere, and so quickly! Unsurprisingly she’s an illustrator and animator by profession
I've never actually witnessed it but I would laugh if I saw it. 😂
@ if you saw her drawings you’d gasp. They are sooooooo good
That's wonderful. More realistically, I would love to see artists creating everywhere I went. It would be heartwarming.
Not in line, but James Gurney once painted in a supermarket with a portable easel and everything. 😆
This year we had to sit and wait an emergency for a family member. Pulled out my small sketchbook and painted the time away (they were ok). Started making my own sketchbook so I could use Arches watercolor paper when wanted. Your channel helped me use the watercolor brushes,because I would take several of my preferred brushes with me and paper towel with an oil painters tin cup, water and clips and other things. Now just use the water brushes I learned from your channel. Thank you, it made all the difference. Get to carry less, draw and paint everywhere.😊👍
I'm not sure why some people don't like water brushes. I also learned from Pete how handy they are and now I use them about as often as the regular brushes
@Beckelby agreed 👍
That's great! I'm glad I could help. When my first nephew was born I sat in the waiting room using an 8x5 stillman and birn hardbound sketchbook. I do like to go small but I have my limits. 🙂 And I love making my own sketchbooks. I have a zutter bind-it-all and I've made a bunch in the past. I also love the idea of creating a book with the exact paper you want. 👍🏻
I came for the watercolour painting and stayed for the rants. You are a legend lol
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂
Oh man... you should have been outside painting that's the point of them, travel and paint at your local grocery shop😅😂.
Loved the little guy you got in the first drawing!
Thanks bud! I did take this kit outside for a little nature painting. They're so small I kept dropping them every few minutes. My legs got a nice workout though. It's a new trend called art-robics. I think I'll start a club. 😂
@@IllustrationsByPete That is one way to stay healthy and touch grass! :D
I backpacked in the carribean and filled books 3×5 and small wn plastic palate. Handy but good for later paintings and diary.
I don't mind the small palettes but those micro palettes have to go. I also enjoy my 3.5 x 5.5 Stillman and Birn. But I took these other 2 outside and they are so small that they are awkward to use. I ended up dropping them constantly. It wasn't fun. Now, backpacking through the Caribbean, that sounds like a good time. 👍🏻
Hater of the Month…😂😂😂😂 I enjoyed this so much. I don’t use the tiny sizes either. Ramble on!
Thank you Linda! I love to have fun on this channel with all of you. It's my happy place. 🙂
I actually carry that small sketchbook along with a pen in my purse. I doodle in it when I'm waiting at the doctor's or it was wonderful when i had jury duty and id doodle in it when waiting. It's lasted me like five years lol it is about time to get a new one.
I do this as well. On my 3rd book, because it’s used everywhere.😊
I found it to hard to hold. Between that and this tiny palette, I spent half the time outside bending over to pick them up off the ground. So I guess it's a good exercise sketchbook set up. 😂
I recently made my own mini sketchbook w good watercolor paper...I found there is a learning curve working very small but I do enjoy it 🎉🎉🎉
I'm glad you got along with it. I took these 2 outside and just kept dropping them. They are awkward to work with for me. I need something like that second book I used and maybe one of the small normal tins.
I am watching what you are drawing and listening to you ramble. It's inspiring me a lot,. This happens to me so often, it feels like everyone else knows what they're doing, but I'm the only one drawing without knowing what I'm doing. That's why listening to you puts me at ease.
Thank you! I'm glad I can help. I almost never know what I'm going to end up with. Most of the time I'm just focused on composition. Then I fill in the shape with colors and lines. I appreciate you. 🙂
I think your channel is fun. I do small paintings because I can do one in a few minutes on busy days and still finish what I'm doing. I also frame my minis and give them as gifts. I can give away artwork that costs me almost nothing. They can be fun to do.
The smallest work I've done is 2.5" x 3". The largest is 16"x 20" in watercolor. I've done much larger oil paintings. I can't really use oils anymore because I have asthma. I do miss them though.
Fun rant. Great end to a boring day. 😁
Thank you! I think that 5x5 book will be a regular go-to for me. I do enjoy how quickly a piece can get done. Giving out little mini paintings is a great idea. 👍🏻
You'll never catch me using a tiny book with a tiny palette but I have to say I love your second and third little paintings. The smallest book I have right now is 7 x 5 inches and I practice eyes or some little thing, not a full painting. I prefer 8 x 12 or close to it for a full painting. I like to do portraits or animals. Haha, I put this little stroke here and ...... lol. I'm one of those who watch and listen to you and enjoy it.
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂 I usually do 9 x 12 as my biggest. I start to get lost when I go bigger because I like to put in so much detail.
I have the small Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook and a pencil case and they live in my lunch bag. I sketch on my lunch break. And they are thumbnails and ideas. I like a small size because it has a small footprint on the table and I can hide behind my lunch tote and no one bothers me in the break room. If I use a larger sketchbook people will notice and then want to talk to me. I don’t carry watercolors with me but I do have a couple of gray Tombows and a waterbrush for shading and shadows if I’m feeling fancy. since I have limited time on my break I don’t worry too much about anything too wet because I don’t have time for it to dry. It’s nice to completely checkout and draw for 10 minutes.
Nice video! Nice work on trying something new even if it isn’t your cup of tea.
I'm glad you brought that up. I love my Stillman and Birn 3.5 x 5.5 Nova gray book which uses the same alpha paper just toned gray. It is a portrait orientation so I can open it and get a 7 x 5.5 inch surface to work on. I always keep it in my work bag as well as a small pen case and I love to do some quick sketching in it. I don't mind that but this first book in the video was too small and chunky. It just wasn't for me.I just have a line that I can't cross otherwise I feel more frustrated than creative. 👍🏻
Pete, you just keep being you. I enjoy your content, your rants & rambles keep me entertained. I must often find myself smiling if not out right chuckling! Love your channel... informative & fun!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy these. I appreciate you. 🙂
I love your rambling and your work. I'm perfectly content to watch your process while you entertain me with commentary on all manner of things. Thank you for what you do!
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂
Keep up the rants! I so enjoy your humor and look forward to your videos. I watch and listen. 😎
For painting on the go, I carry a cheap 6x8 wire bound journal in my bag. I like that the cover folds under and the hard cover makes it stable in my lap. I've tried smaller, but don't seem to stick with the smaller format. I generally like mint tins for my paint and I have one with a sponge cut to fit, topped with a little fabric pouch I sewed with water beads inside, and covered it in a scrap of t-shirt that I turned into paint rags months ago. My "big tin" is a tin that a cell phone screen protector came in, it holds a lot of pans. I just take a few out and stick them in the blotter mint tin to paint (I use magnets on my pans).
I put my water brushes, pencils, pen, and small tins in a travel makeup brush pouch. The whole kit fits in my travel bag with my usual daily items. I carry a small art bag with a long strap rather than a traditional purse. I need a rugged bag for my job.
Thank you! Sounds like a nice setup. I tried with this little tin but I kept dropping it. I need something slightly bigger. I enjoy my small tin but this one was too small. 👍🏻
i have a little handmade backpack devoted to my travel supplies (one or two pocket books and half a dozen tins of pens, pencils, and the artist trading card kit). the smallest i have gone is 5x7. the grocery store is a bit much but i do drag that bag with me to the park when the kids want to go or my mother in laws in visit day. i do have a fold out paint pallet, it's not my favorite. the concept is marvelous (full pan surface) but the paint is cheap (it cracks and is less than 1/4in thick to start). i use .003, takes a very delicate touch. my average page is 9 x 12 as well. it's your show, talk about what ever you want 😂 i do, what ever pops into my head at the time. i tell people i am not a teacher, my page is for my friends who just wanted to know what i was doing.
That's a great idea. I used to have a travel bag with art supplies in them but I would always go take stuff out of it so it ended up being empty until the next time I went out and had to fill it again. 😂 Now I just prepare before I go out. 👍🏻
I absolutely love your sense of humor. Why not whip out your paints in the middle of a family dinner? At a music concert? At a wedding reception?
It's a great icebreaker at parties 😂
I do that sometimes at family gatherings but only to be antisocial. Sometimes they discuss the most boring subjects that would put me to sleep if I didn't find something interesting to do. 😂
Echoing what other folks have said. Pete, just keep on being you. As for going large or small, I do both, but it depends on the medium being used. The largest work I've done was painted with acrylics and that was a mural on the staff room wall of one of my past workplaces. The smallest I work on is A6 with encaustic waxes. I haven't worked on anything smaller, yet. I do keep a few pencils and a battered A5 sketchbook in my bag though for passing time on long journeys. I don't drive so I rely on my feet and public transport.
I have always admired murals but I could never see myself doing one. I always want to put time into the details and on something that big I'd get lost. I also have a need for completion so something that takes more than 1 or 2 sessions is too much. A5 is a good travel book. 👍🏻
@@IllustrationsByPete I know what you mean about needing to complete things, the mural painting kept me sane during the covid lockdowns. Couldn't go out anywhere during my lunchbreaks so I painted the wall instead, 30-45 mins at a time, 5 days a week over six months. I'll try and stick a photo up of it on your website's forum.
I'd love to see it. 👍🏻
Your 'rants' are full of truth, keep the faith brother. Btw, I love the Montval line😂. (Great for water soluble and watercolor markers.) I have one of those teeny sketchbooks, it kept slipping out of my hand so it's on the shelf. Some of those regular sketchbooks will surprise you when throwing watercolor on them.
You did it, great art. I even like that abstract paper towel.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this. I like to have fun and rant about things. 😂
I will admit, I used to think the same thing. What a joke this mini crap was to me. Until i started doing it. An old friend challenged me to try it and I found myself becoming a better watercolor artist because i had to create the impression of details. I had to create the impression of texture instead of actually painting and drawing the detail & texture. If you can create depth, texture, details in a1 inch square then by God you can do it in any size.
I can appreciate that. I'm sure it did help. For me, the enjoyment comes from painting the textures and detail. If I didn't have that I wouldn't want to create. 👍🏻
I always love listening to you talk! Great video! A tiny palette and sketchbook would hurt my weak wrists, so I've never tried them. I admire anyone who's able to make stuff with them though. lol.
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂 When I tried using them I kept dropping them outside. I need something a little more substantial to hold on to. 👍🏻
My favorite sketchbook size is A4 and A3. I never liked the smaller sketchbook, I feel like it limits my movements and my imagination. The same thing with canvas, my favorite size are 36x36 or 36x48. I always like how you say what a lot of us think Pete! Stay original, it's refreshing.
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂
I can't go too big. I enjoy smaller details and if I had something big I'd spend so much time on it that it would take me forever to finish. Usually 9x12 is good enough for me but I'd rather go bigger than smaller.
@@IllustrationsByPete I understand, I'm disabled and I'm home all day long. My art is what keeps me occupied. I have nothing but time. I have 5x8, 5x5 sketchbook and I use them to swatch colors or do mixes. Their is no right or wrong way to use art supplies, but we all have our favorites and that what's makes us all unique. 🤓
That's very true. 👍🏻
do your paints not get all stuck together facing each other like that? I’d put a small sheet of plastic (eg from a cut up old plastic wallet) or yupo in between to keep the paints from getting stuck together. Also good to use as a makeshift mixing surface when on the go! I often use old yupo sheets as extra mixing surfaces when I am travelling
That's a good idea. There's quite a bit of space between them so they don't touch.
I’ve used the tins with each inside covered with wc paper. On the top I painted a small landscape. On the bottom I put dabs of each color that I used. They make sweet little gifts. As a palette I think they’re too small also. Fun video.
Thank you! That's a fun idea. 👍🏻
Hahnemuhle mini zigzag would be perfect for this. Ordered tin for me & a friend. Think I will go back and get 2 zig zags. Merry Christmas to me. Also printed out your supply. Might be some big Black Friday shopping in my future. Going to use my DaVinci Perylene Green-it's fantastic. Last picture is a peacock snail storm trooper.
That's one way to see it. 😂 I have not tried their zigzag books. I need to look at those. 👍🏻
My favorite way to paint is gigantic, like wall murals or any other not-normal surface. It's super fun but also it hides the twitchiness and jerkiness I'm prone to, which shows a LOT in the smaller paintings. Even before nerve damage though I always preferred murals, there's nothing as satisfying to me as having to step back to see what you're working on and getting to see the literal big picture 😊
I've always admired murals but I just couldn't do it. Do you know how long I would be there putting details in with an 03 fineliner? 👴
@IllustrationsByPete It's one of those lifelong projects that are only worth a lot of money once you've passed lol
Just my luck. 😂
I keep my palette, water brush, pen, pencil, ect in a pill bottle 😅 the whole kit fits (besides paper). It works really well for me. My pallet is a split primary set + black and brown. I primarily work about business card size because that's what sparks joy and is relatively easy to do, for example, in a parked car.
How big are those pills? 😳
I'm glad you enjoy it. Everyone likes something different. I have the same issue with going too big as I do going too small. I'm just a middle of the road type of guy. 🙂
I recently purchased an A4 sketchbook with multimedia paper for a year long art program. Being someone that typically uses 5”x7” watercolor books this was a huge challenge. The damn thing is daunting. Every time I need to start a new page I hit a wall. Most pages are a collection of sketches or paintings and creating a small sketch is hard. Even a 5”x7” effort only fills less than 25% of the page. I hope to get to the point that I can create those beautiful journal pages that I see in all those “beginner” friendly videos by the end of the year.
Don't worry about it. Screw the pretty sketchbooks. Do what you do and fill up each page with beautiful small sketches. Paste in inspirational quotes and photos. Figure out a way to arrange them so all together they make up a nice composition. At least, that's how I would look at it. I can't go big all the time it's too overwhelming and would take me too long to complete a piece so I'd make each page a group of pieces that flow together. Whatever you do make sure you are having fun. If you aren't having fun then you're doing it wrong. That's the only rule I follow. 😉
I love ya Pete! You crack me up so much! I’m a watcher and listener 😂 I guess I’m special 😅
You are special and you have a great resiliency if you both watch and listen. 🙂 I appreciate you.
Pet portraits, I like 11x14 to allow for details. Doodles, however, 3x5ish so I can finish quickly and move on. Also fits in my purse 😆. And small supplies are just adorable.
Lately I've done some 2.5x3 because I found mats on sale for $1. I'll send pics. :)
I'd love to see them. 👍🏻
Turn my Bob Ross tin into a palette and placed an air dry clay pallet inside that was sealed well.😊
Oh, that's a great idea. 👍🏻
I LOVE THIS CHANNEL❤
Thank you so much Denise! Me too! 🙂
My sweet spot as far as a paper size, is like between 9x12, 11x14 and 12x16 ❤😊 for me, it’s hard to go like to 5x7 or smaller than that. Love you and your content Pete! Look forward to all your videos. Btw, where are you from? You remind me of my friends from New Jersey 😂love just listening to you talk tbh lol
Thank you! I appreciate you. 🙂 I'm originally from Long Island NY and I have some extended family in Jersey. I think 9 x 12 is the biggest for me. I like to put in too much smaller detail and I need to finish a piece in one to two sittings or I get frustrated. Everyone has their own thing. 👍🏻
my favorite is actually the first one you did that looks like a face of some sort
It wasn't bad. I don't mind it. 👍🏻
I have a small pallet I filled it up with paints and never used it as it’s so inconvenient in reality who does ever paint on the go that’s what Facebook and instagram is for. Until this video I actually forgot about my small pallet I’ll go check if it’s still in the car with my tiny sketchbook 😂
I know. It is very inconvenient. 😂
For ATC (2.5 x 3.5 inches) exchanges with friends I cut larger sheets of cardstock or watercolor paper to that size and then stamp funny motifs onto them to color in. The smallest "paintings" were postoids but those were done mostly as a joke. My currently preferred sketchbook is about 4 x 5.5 inch. But the pans have to be at least half-pans 🙂
I've never been a part of any of those exchanges. I see how they are a good idea but I just never tried them. I could go small I just wouldn't enjoy it. I'd pull out my .001 fineliner and put in as much detail as I could. 😂
@@IllustrationsByPete "Wow, Pete, your ATC looks great - how long did it take you?"
"Well, two minutes for the main motif and then about two days for the details..." 🤣
That's right! 😂
Huge fan of your rambling! Can’t stand those ppl who r always “and now I’m gonna do x or y”, super annoying! My usual size is 8.27 x 11.69, never bigger bc of the scanner, sometimes a little bit smaller, not much tho. Next year I’m getting a 36 full pans set (u guessed it, white nights lol) in plastic, so I can take it with me wherever, and that’s good for me, because what the heck, I don’t think tins are ideal, and I also own like three huge artisanal wooden based palettes, which in my opinion are not practical at all. Anyhow, bob ross rocks 🫶🫶
You have it all together. 👍🏻 Match your paper to your scanner ✔️ use full pans in your palette ✔️ use great watercolor ✔️ . And a Bob Ross fan, all good!
I just bought a 20" block of cold press from Meeden, and it's so big I am almost intimidated to use it, lol. I like seeing the small sketchbooks people use, but have not tried one yet.
Wow! Love to see that I'm not the only one frustrated with the tiny stuff! Just wondering if you could do a demo with the Viviva watercolor travel set. I just got one for Black Friday ... I'm really liking the powerful colors! :)
And I must say that I really dig your "stream of consciousness" artwork. 😂
Thank you! I have not tried those. I need to take a look at them. 👍🏻
I have one of the wooden ones, but because of the hip replacement I haven’t gone out to paint. I think it will be fun, but I’ll let you know. I usually like smaller painting, 5x7 type size, I do use a 4x4 and I enjoy doing them. I’m not sure what too small is, but for just painting for fun…heck I’ll try about anything. LOL. Speaking of AI…that crap drives me nuts. 😂
Let me know how you like it when you finally get to use it. I know, Ai is annoying. 😂
Yes, i have a business card paint palette and a 3 x 5 booklet. I paint in it while the wife is at the dr.s or in the store. I'll sit in the car or the waiting room.
I do carry a 3.5 x 5.5 Stillman and Birn nova gray book. I love it. I usually open it to a 5.5 x 7 and that works great for me. But I took that smaller book and palette outside and I spent half the time picking it up off the floor because I kept dropping it. I like my small tin palette. But this one was just too awkward to hold and use.
Lol, no Pete, the smallest I’ll go for a sketchbook, watercolor journal is 5x6 or 6x6, approx. I have old eyes for heavens sake. Lol now I’ve created Altoid tin size palettes with no problem. One tin is some homemade granulating watercolors I made, a dozen pans. One is a mix of Schminke and White Nights granulating, and another is a mix. I made them up for travel, but mostly use them when I’m wanting to paint in my journals on the sofa with a tv tray. Some days setting up big paper and a bunch of full palettes is too much.
I’m with you on the whole Ai thing. Hate it with a venomous hate.
Oh, back to the tiny sketchbook thing. Remember Zoolander’s tiny cell phone? Yeah, it’s like that.
😂 I do remember that. I think the small standard palette is the smallest I enjoy using. This one was too difficult to hold and I kept dropping it while I was outside. As much as I wanted to love it, I think I'm reverting back to my small tin palette.
@ Yeah, I don’t think mens’ hands are suited for tiny palettes. I don’t ever hold any of my palettes no matter the size. I’d get a cramp in my old fingers! I have to work on a surface/table. I like having a portable little palette for when I travel, or too lazy to set up at the table. And you had me rolling when you talked about the person painting in her tiny sketchbook with her tiny paints whilst checking out at the market. 🤣😂 Like, “look at me…I’m an arteeest and I can paint anywhere, because I’m that good!” I am fine with plein aire painting, or at the cafe or, on a road trip. But I can’t really plein aire much here in Texas. Heat, humidity, bugs flying into your paint or hair and face. Nope. 🙅🏼♀️
That's why I need to live where there is a decent winter cycle. Not cold enough to snow but cold enough to kill the bugs and I can go walk outside without the sun trying to kill me. I visited Dallas one summer in July. I don't think I could do it. I need a flat surface too. I made a portable one. I need to show it in a video. 👍🏻
@ yeah, we are in Central Texas, so hotter than Dallas and fewer tornadoes. But man, the annoying bugs. We lived in SW Missouri for 30+ years. I called it “Misery”! Lol Humid in the summer, ice and snow in the winter. Moved here to be closer to some of our grown kids.
Yes please show us your table. I’d love to have my hubby build me a foldable and portable table. Maybe one that the legs slide under the sofa or a chair somehow. Gotta make that wood shop pay off. 🤣
I'm extremely moderate. I don't like to work small or large. I like working on pieces 5x7 to 9x12
I'm right with you on that. 👍🏻
BTW, would only take it out on my farm, because I have a lot of places to go paint, may hate it, I’ll let you know..lOL
Pete, have you tried Peerless or Viviva? They're a little different; it would be fun to hear your thoughts.
I have never tried those before but now they are on my very very long list. 👍🏻
Viviva are really nice. The sheets are Dye based I believe.
Pete, you crack me up! I started a semi-secret RUclips channel a while ago (different account to this one) and I am not after world domination (or even monetisation) but my new goal is to get enough subscribers that I can ask you to collab one day because your humour is totally up my street!!
You don't need any number of subs. We're all a part of the same group here. I'm always happy to look at ideas. Let me know what you have in mind. When you think of it send me an email.
@@IllustrationsByPete aaaw… that’s so sweet! will do, though might not be for a couple of months now❤️
No problem. I'll be here when you're ready. 🙂
ha- so im cutting and signing dozens of tiny paintings i made for my students right now haha. but uh yeah expensive and minimalistic things, evolutionarily (im a prof) is a type of costly signaling. in nature and humans- this is usually risky behavior. But it also includes displays of things that are costly in other ways- monetarily, time consumption, and yes even convenience. minimalism in general is a signal of affluence bc it means you don't need all the extra other people need bc you can afford the best/ assistance/ time etc.
Sounds about right. 👍🏻
How small is too small? The limit does not exist
You are speaking to someone who loves fractals so I agree with you there. 👍🏻 But I do have a limit for me. I once saw some ridiculous things where people put messages on grains of rice. I'm not that guy. 😂
don't we all enjoy going across the gutter 🤣
😂
I refuse to apply extreme minimalism to painting. I like quill brushes and large flats. For me, little half-pans of paint are just ridiculous brush destroyers. I find it SO annoying to watch people digging around and around and around in those stupid half-pans to get enough paint just to make their next brush stroke. Full pans are as minimal as I'm willing to go, and even they annoy me sometimes. 8x10 or larger paper -- if I can't put some full arm juicy paint marks down, forget it.
The Kuretake pans are awesome. I'm putting together a set of them. Big enough to swim in. 😂
Those mini wooden palettes are sooooo stup…. Omg 🤦🏽♀️ I can’t stand even looking at the reviews. No just no.🤣
😂 I agree.