STAY WET PALETTE

[nolan]

The tile or a piece of glass just remains the best palette

[ImBatman]

Hi everyone,

In case you need some inspiration, here is the setup I finalised on after including a tile...

Batman

Details Stay Wet Palette with tile

Stay Wet Palette with tile

[Lillian]

It looks like that will work very well for you, Batman.   

Here's wishing you many, many  hours of happy 

[Leana]

Batman  awesome  . My palette looks very much like your palette 

[Val]

Brilliant. 

[Gita]

I found this thread so helpful. Thankyou all for the valuable inventions.  Batman, can't see your picture anymore of the finished stay wet palette. Maybe, Nina could you please post a photo of your stay wet palette?

[liz]

  Re stay wet palettes-

How does the piece of glass or tile stay damp if the sponge is underneath?
How can you put paint on the paper towels lining the sides of the palette without the paint soaking through the paper?
~Liz

[Gita]

Liz, I hope we get an answer. I am still waiting and ask myself the same questions like you. 

[zoorekan]

I have two,,, I only started painting with Acrylic a few months ago and quickly discovered you needed one of these... so I made one,,, alas its a bit taller than I would have liked so I bought a mastersons Sta-Wet..at I have found is that Parchment paper works well but Acrylic Paper is the best bet... you can buy this in refil packs from some art suppliers.

Downside is that the palettes can become a bit stinky

In lockdown it's pretty hard here in Lima to find shallow trays with lids but I reckon too that the Mastersons was worth it and not too expensive either,,,

[zoorekan]

The tile or a piece of glass just remains the best palette

Nolan, I find that here in Lima, Peru the paint dries super quickly even with regular misting on glass of paper,,, almost religiously have to work with the wet palette and keep covering it immediately,,

With Oil though I have been using glass but find myself migrating back to cedar,,, for mobility more than anything else

[zoorekan]

Re stay wet palettes-

How does the piece of glass or tile stay damp if the sponge is underneath?
How can you put paint on the paper towels lining the sides of the palette without the paint soaking through the paper?
~Liz

If you're using Parchment paper or Acrylic paper refils (available from good art stores) the membrane is pourous,,,so it absorbs moisture from below as needed.... Much in the same way human skin regulates temperature and perspires

The material in these papers too acts as a kind of seaparation barrier - paint is heaver and less viscous than water so it kind of floats rather than dissolves... like oil in water,,,

[nolan]

Nolan, I find that here in Lima, Peru the paint dries super quickly even with regular misting on glass of paper,

John I assume it is because of your temperatures being higher than by me. Here the temps average around the 20C mark +- 5C

Do you have a same problem in the winter by you?

[zoorekan]

Hi Nolan,, yeah... just coming into summer now and temps all over the place.. It's also pretty humid where I live. I'vm working on the berries Tut on and off while waiting for layers to dry on the oil of my daughter,, but am trying to work on glass,,, kinda worked alright for around 40 mins to an hour or so misting occasionally but I think you're right in it being down to environment alright!

[liz]

John, I didn’t even check on this thread for a long time, but I did get the answers anyway and from your comment.  I think stay wet palettes can be made with any kind of container depending on what size you need, as long as they have tight lids.  I wanted to tell you about my Masterson palette:  I got it a while back and from Day 1 it was a major pain in the butt because it’s so hard to squeeze the air out.  Snapping the lid on by pressing all around the sides is a bummer and now the corners of my lid have cracked off.  But I use this palette anyway for oils now; I have a piece of glass in it so I can scrape the paint off with a paint scraper.  Well, I wanted to say that I will never buy a Masterson palette again.  I am still looking for one that size though. ~Liz