So much of oil painting is mixing. Accurately mixing color depends on seeing color accurately. We need the right surface to mix color on. We also need to have a surface that allows us to mix paint to the proper viscosity. We also need something that is easy to clean! Plastic palettes get easily scratched up from palette knife use. Wooden palettes get stained and are hard to clean up. Paper palettes are great for on the go or for certain situations but have some obvious limitations.
Here’s what I use. It’s a glass palette that I made myself with some very simple supplies. I used a piece of glass that I had in my studio. This is a great option because it is the perfect surface to mix on; it’s painted middle grey on the back, making it easy to judge the value of colors and it’s easy to clean. Palette knife and brush mixing on it is smooth and satisfying. Last but not least, this can be customized to any size that works for your particular workspace.
Wala! You have a great palette for your studio space! You can also have a piece of glass cut to size to put into a pochade box. You can skip the foam core for this. Then use silicon gel to keep it in place.
