Gouache - Page 10 of 10

How to choose your painting palette? When it comes to paint palette, everyone has their preference. If you paint with oil, gouache, acrylic or watercolor, you'll find some useful tips here. Here are some materials you can use for your palette, with pro and cons for each one. WOOD PRO It's easy to find. They sell some ready made palettes in art stores. If you do it yourself, you must varnish the wood with a heavy varnish, like the one used on boats. It's light enough to be portable It comes in different sizes so you can really go big The best one if you like to work standing, with your palette in your hand CON Not always easy to clean. After some time the color will bleed in the wood and leave stains. The color of the wood may be disturbing when mixing paints Doesn't work for watercolor Ceramic PRO It's sold in art supplies stores, with different shapes, including small buckets to mix your paint. Great for watercolor! You can use a plate as well, so it cost nothing Very easy to clean! CON It's quite heavy It's small so if you need a large mixing area it's not the best one Might be too slippery for some paints It may break Cardboard PRO It's free, so to speak Works for acrylic You don't need to clean it, just throw it away after use! Very portable Great for last minute painting emergency! CON It's not suitable for oil painting and gouache as the paint will bleed inside. Doesn't work for watercolor The color may be disturbing for mixing paints Paper(s) PRO You can buy disposable paper palettes in art supplies stores. It comes in different sizes, and with a hole for your thumb as well, if you like to hold your palette. You can also use Tyvek enveloppes that you cut and open Regular paper can be fine for acrylic Very light, so very portable CON Not very eco-friendly if you throw it away each time Might be expensive in the long run if you buy disposable palettes Doesn't work for watercolor Glass PRO Transparent, so you can place a grey or white paper under for mixing paints Very easy to clean Suitable for oil, gouache and acrylic You may look for heat-tempered glass in the hardware store, so it's (almost) impossible to break. And edges will be soft too. CON Heavy, not portable May break Edges can be really sharp and cut! Doesn't work for watercolor Floor tile PRO You can select a light color like white, cream or grey Cost almost nothing if you use one from your home work or you can get one at a very low price in hardware store Easy to clean, if you get a varnished one CON Heavy, not portable May break Doesn't work for watercolor Plastic PRO Comes in a large variety of shapes and sizes Light, very portable Easy to clean Great for watercolor Not very expensive CON Some colors will stain the plastic, for ever! Not great for mixing oil, gouache or acrylic, as the wells are really small. Enamel tray PRO White background, great for mixing Won't break Light, portable Comes in different sizes Not very expensive CON Doesn't work for watercolor, poodles will merge together Limited size And I add from my Instagram followers: your hand or your legs, for gouache I assume oven paper taped on a hard surface that you can throw away after painting (great for oil painting) plexiglass for plein air Sta-Wet palette that I forgot, ideal for acrylics Here are some examples of palettes, I'm sure there is more out there! But what I know is that you'll certainly need several palettes, as a single can't solve all the problems. I do have four: - a floor tile for gouache, it's heavy but steady and I can place it in the sink to wash it - a large heat-tempered glass with rounded edges for oil painting so I have a lot of space for mixing colors. I clean it with a scraper - the lid of my tinbox for watercolor when I paint plein air - an airtight palette with mixing tray for gouache plein air