Jean Marie, I don't know if you have purchased one yet, or read my response at Cennini, but hopefully I can find the images and just to repeat.
Would palettes that are made of good hard wood are a standard throughout history. They become a lighter value the more you use them and the paint develops a natural patina. You can't beat them. Especially as you become more comfortable with values it will not be such a big deal, are you toning your canvas gray? Or a burnt sienna type brown, these figure in too.
The ones Max made for me based on Whitaker's patterns are not only made superbly but are finished in the best possible way for keeping them clean.
Because of the horn design, it eliminates the extra weight to balance the palette thus it stays very light. The smaller one that fits a Masterson Box, is lighter than a tube of paint.
On top of all of this they are very reasonably priced.
I forget how Max want's them ordered on his site, he doesn't have them specified yet, so just shoot him an email for more info. I recommend them highly, for they too are a work of art.
Real Gesso Panels