I’m so excited! I created my own palette and I love it!! I know, there are bigger things going on in the world than a measly little palette. However, to me, it is big, it was cheap and here’s how to make it.
While watching countless YouTube videos on how to paint, I have noticed a fair number of oil painters using a glass palette. Yes, there are those with the full wooden oval palettes with a hole for your thumb, but that’s never appealed to me. However, the glass one has.
I went to a local second-hand charity shop last month with a whole list of things to look for, and definitely a piece of glass was not on the list, but you know how it is…In with the picture frames was a small pile of glass taken out of something…probably picture frames… and piled up for sale at 50 cents a piece.
I know this won’t win prizes for looking beautiful, however, it is really functional. When I got my glass home, I realized the edges needed to be protected…or at least, I needed protecting from the edges…they were pretty sharp. So, I took out some good old green painters’ tape and taped them all.
Then, I needed something grey underneath. A grey surface provides a good place to mix colours because grey is neutral and colours mixed on it will show tone and saturation and value much better than on a clear, white or multicoloured surface. So, I used a piece of Canva tear-off artcard, painted it a neutral grey, the painted blotches of grey gradients down the side. After it had dried I taped it to the back of the glass with painters’ tape.
Yes, I could have done better, it could be prettier, but it is what it is. Yesterday I took it for a test drive and I found mixing colours using a palette knife was no effort at all. I had the wrist space, the palette was flat, and at the end of the day, it was really easy to clean. The green painters’ tape will need to be replaced at some point as it will invariably get messy, but that’s a tiny price to pay for something that I hope will enhance my home painting environment.
Of course, it was also a stalling technique before getting painting again, however it was a good one with a good outcome and it only set me back half a dollar. So, how have you added to your painting environment recently? Will you give creating a palette a go? If so, let me know how it turns out.
Janet and Janet 
It is no surprise at all that you got accepted to two prestigious organizations, Janet. You are an incredible artist and so very blessed to have the opportunity to share the beauty of nature with a larger audience.
As for your glass palette, I’ll have to share that with James. He’s not painting right now but will again sometime in the future. In fact, it was he who came up with a great idea to store finished canvases and it was my brother who put it together for me. This app doesn’t provide the means to post a photo but it is a simple enough design. Holes are drilled two inches or more apart and doweling is pressure-fitted into the holds. Once paintings are dry enough, they can be stored vertically in the slots.
Happy painting, Janet, and thank you for being the light that you are in this world.
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Wow, thanks Norah! It is lovely to hear from you and I am glad you will share the palette post with James. I love the idea of the storage area. I have been wondering about how to store finished canvases. Currently, all my paintings are carefully placed horizontally, however, long-term that’s not good for the paintings and not good for storage space. And thank you for your lovely comments. I am currently repainting a sky of a picture I completed last year that needed lightening up – so there you are, I am spreading light in the world…hahaha. Happy creating to you, Norah 🙂
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