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SO!!!

After struggling and struggling to reclaim skills I have long-past lost, I kept running into people praising a "wet-palette."

I knew that they were talking about. "I" went to "Art School" after all, where we had this drilled into us, about the benefits of a wet-palette.

But. . . . I arrogantly thought that I could make due with an old cookie tin, a sponge, and a piece of leather (similar to what I used in art school).

HOWEVER. . . I cannot emphasize the difference enough between a proper thin-sponge (or leather) with parchment (parchment is basically leather, just very thin) over it.

It should be pointed out, though, that technology is a BIT more advanced these days, and that the "parchment" covering of the sponge these days isn't parchment! It is instead a material specifically engineered to repel the paint itself (to a degree), while allowing water to penetrate from below.

I did a little bit of research into the changes in the wet-palette, and my prior methods of using them (and why I was not able to replicate it with newer paints, designed to work with newer wet-palettes), and discovered that if I were to return exactly to my prior methods, I would achieve the same results.

But my prior methods are no longer available. And trying to replicate them has resulted in sloppy work, poor quality blending and shading, and overall frustration.

I now see why people emphasized the specifics of the wet-palette they were using.

I went and bought some tube-acrylics to test in comparison, and they work fine with my older sponge and leather wet-palette (and, I am going to keep it for some colors, as it turns out, specifically reds and violets), but they work even better with the newer professional grade wet-palettes.

I could not believe how easily blending became after this; how soft the dry-brushes became (the wet-palette leaves the brush just damp enough, and with enough pigment remaining in a consistent distibution through the brush to not get any surprises when dry-brushing; and how easily it was to blend colors on the palette (something that is more difficult to do using the sponge-leather wet-palette).

So...

Now that I have one. . . . .

Are there any other tricks that I might want to know about them?

Seeing as the sponge is a LOT THINNER than the one I was using - the new wet-palette has a sponge that is 5/32" thick, while my previous one was ⅝" thick (slightly thicker than a half-inch).

I know that with a thicker sponge, it takes more water to keep the top damp (gravity works), and that could have been a hindrance.

But I want to get the most out of this thing, so any other suggestions on use, or maintenance would be appreciated, please.

MB

I don't know any other techniques for a wet palette, but I'm curious if you bought one at a craft store, or did you make the one you are using now, and if so what did you use to make it.

I went and bought a container and some regular sponges, and had parchment paper on hand, but the paper doesn't sit well on the sponges, and it just doesn't seem to work right.

So would it just be better to go to my local Hobby Lobby and get a artist wet palette, and be done with it?

I watched a video tutorial on how to make a wet palette (the results looked good although, years on, I have still not got around to making my own) and the person used grease proof paper. I don't recall if they used a sponge or layers of tissue paper/paper kitchen towel.

I've tried 3 kinds of wet palettes --

1. The homemade kind, with parchment paper, paper towels or sponge, and a Tupperware container.

2. The Privateer Press ones, which consist of a plastic container, spongy foam like what you use in miniature cases, and a porous paper that's thinner than parchment paper.

3. A "proper" art one -- Mastersons -- where the sponge holds much more water, and the paper is very thick.

The homemade one is fine if you're on a budget, or in a pinch. But frankly, I'm just as happy saying screw it and painting with a palette. The lip on the Tupperware container is awkward, the paints bleed everywhere, and it's not always flat.

The Privateer Press is actually my favorite, even though it has some shortcomings. The space is quite small. Because I use a lot of paints and colors, I have to have 2 out at a time (and I have 3, in case I'm working on more than 1 model). They are cheap, the refills are cheap, and it's easy and painless to use. The downside is that if you use flo-aid, paint on it will bleed everywhere (right off the paper) overnight. Also, it wicks through a lot of moisture, which is not really a good thing. With the cover down, my paint will end up wetter than I left it, which means I have to add paint to thicken it, or sometimes just abandon that puddle til it dries a little.

The Mastersons is really nice. Paint bleeds a lot less, the size is perfect, and it keeps my paint in about the same condition that I left it. So why don't I love this? Well, mostly, the paper is way more expensive. Because metallic paint doesn't keep on a wet palette (it separates, and then when you stir it up, it doesn't really work right), I'd chew through them quite quickly. Plus, although I like the smaller size Mastersons for 1 project, if I am working on TWO projects, I need two fairly large wet palettes, and that's a bit awkward. Finally, the lid is not hinged, so I always end up looking for it

tupperware, kitchen towel at the bottom and baking paper on top. Works fine=)

I bought the Blick equivalent of the Mastersons' palette.

It is roughly the same size, but it has a sponge in it that can be laundered to get the paint bleed-through out, and the parchment isn't really parchment but a synthetic textile that is also said to be re-usable (but I also have an additional 15 sheets of it, and I can buy a pad of 50 sheets).

I was using a home-made palette, which consisted of an old "biscuit" tin (cookie box), with a sheet of foam in it that I got from where I used to work (it was about 5/8" thick, slightly more than a half-inch), and then on top of that I had a piece of very, very thin leather (about 1/100" thick).

The older one worked OK with the tube acrylics, but the thickness of the sponge meant it tended to dry out quickly.

The newer one has a sponge that is a little more than 1/8" thick, and the "paper" on it tends to stay drier than the leather I was using, making it way easier to get dry brushing done with the palette (the paint loaded in the brush more easily, and does not have a tendency to become too dry in spots inside the brush).

I have still not got the knack of getting water added to the palette when it needs it.

But the upside to the more expensive palette is that when paint does dry on the paper, the paper allows it to be lifted right off (sort of like peeling a sticker off its backing).

The instructions that came with it had some rather strange suggestions:

• Microwaving the paper in a bowl of water before use.
• Making certain that the slick side of the sponge is facing upward.
• Using hot water, and then waiting for it to cool to put paints on it.

I am not certain what the purpose of the microwaving or hot water is other than maybe it has something to do with the 'recyclable" nature of the paper it uses.

MB

I've recently begun using a homemade wet pallete built from a shallow tupperware container, a series of paper towels in lieu of a sponge and non greasy baking paper. I plan to pick up the P3 palette eventually but for now this one is doing the job just fine.

The difference between a wet palette and a typical plastic art palette has been huge. I'm now using far less paint, am measuring & mixing quantities more accurately and most importantly can keep paint at the exact consistency I need for the task at hand almost indefinitely, whereas before I felt under constant time pressure to finish whatever I was doing before the moisture on the palette evaporated.

The thought keeps coming back to me... if only we'd known about wet palettes & kolinsky sable brushes back in the 90s! Its so much easier to achieve incredible results nowadays and of course YouTube tutorials help immensely as well.

Speaking of video tutorials here is one of the best I've found which demonstrates how to mix colors on a wet pallete:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2MxY3y_Zqc&index=2&list=PL0_grDypO1drKAXVfvppjauSiXCuLp2gU

Funny... I have been using sable brushes (including Kolinsky) my entire life.

Probably because I painted paintings before painting miniatures.

But, yes...

These things make a HELL of a difference.

And you will likely discover a pretty drastic difference between an actual made-for-painting wet-palette and one that is thrown together.

What I was using before was pretty advanced for a home-made wet-palette, but it still had flaws that detracted from some techniques (for miniatures, at least - what I was using was intended more for use with a canvas. The leather is intended to be able to stand up better to palette knives).

I have been doing a bit of reading about advances in wet-palette technology over the years, and they have made some rather bold strides over the simple sponge and paper.

MB


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Addenum:

I looked into the issue of separating metallics on a wet-palette, and was told only some Metallics separate.

It seems to have something to do with the type of binder used in the paint.

One suggestion for dealing with the problem was to put down a small layer of plain medium before putting down the metallic (I am testing it out right now with a selection of metallic paints from Vallejo).

I notice so far that the Vallejo Bright Silver, Tarnished Silver, and Dark Steel have not separated, (in either the spots with medium underneath them, or in the paint sitting directly on the palette), but that the "Bright Brass" has begun to separate a little bit in the spot without medium.

MB