What type of Palette board to use?

[Ngaire Winwood]

Hi all,

I am curious to find out if a glass palette with white paper underneath is the way to go, or should I place a grey paper underneath and to what value would the grey be around value '8', or should I use a light or dark wooden brown palette to place pigments on? I realise everyone has their own version, but as a beginner to see colours cleanly which would be best to use.

I have noticed when I do a search on palettes, most photos are taken using grey painted something, is this grey something just years of wiping off that maybe started out as a white plastic? Can anyone make a suggestion as to the best reference to use to be able to see the clarity of pigment colours cleanly with?

[Mary Jane Ansell]

Hi Ngaire

What colour ground do you paint on?

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to make your palette the same colour as the ground you're working on to - that way you're making it easier for yourself to judge mixing the colours and values you want as accurately as possible...

Traditional dark wood palettes are great if you favour a traditional reddish bole ground, obviously grey palettes work for grey grounds ans so on... personally I stick with a white palette as I paint onto white gessoed boards and canvasses... (I find a piece of white silicon baking parchment wrapped around an off cut of white card makes a fantastic surface to mix onto, especially for glazes as they move around beautifully on it - and no messy cleaning up too - just throw it away and grab the next clean sheet!)

Will be interesting to hear what you find works for you.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I favor the gray palette, kept in a mid value5. I actually bought several cheap small wooden palettes and painted them all that gray. Once dry, shellac was placed over it, which allows for fast clean up.

The first row is from white value 10 down to black value 0, this row is followed in the same order of values by any other color I would use. The benefit is that all the colors correspond to each other on a mid value background and it eliminates guesswork as far as what value color to use.

After taking Marvin Mattelson's workshop, I have learned to tube my own paints and for that I use a stay wet palette. You can either find art paper or paint it yourself in a mid value grey. Then have a glass cutter cut you a piece to fit the size of the box. You can use this also as a palette placed on a taboret or for mixing your paints.

[Mary Jane Ansell]

For more on the use of judging values on grey palettes etc... this might be of interest:

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color11.html#paintzone

[Allan Rahbek]

I have made a glass palette because I realized that I almost never held the palette in the hand. It lay on the table beside me.

I think the glass is fine for mixing and it is easy to clean. I like to have only the mixtures of color, that I use right now, on the palette. That also allows me to use the middle gray color, under the glass, to judge the values.
I have also put a gray scale under the glass, as you can see.

Allan

[Ngaire Winwood]

Dear Mary, Enzie and Allan

All of your own take on palettes is very interesting and thanks for sharing.

Enzie and Mary, would you be so kind as to add photos of your palette as well as it is always interesting to see what others work with.

Allan, I like the idea of having a grey scale underneath as well for clarity when mixing, great photo your studio looks so neat.

I didn't realise that one's choice of underpainting was the choice for the colour under a palette, thanks Mary for highlighting this.

The paper trick sounds easier for clean up than the glass.

Enzie, I am intrigued with Marvin's palette and haven't quite understood his rows just yet. From previous threads, I remember it is based on cool, warm colours and differing values being prior mixed but I suppose without knowing how to use them on your work it will stay a bit of a mystery. I imagine you lay a warm/cool colour next to each other for illuminosity of colour. Am I close?

[Ngaire Winwood]

Mary

Thanks for the link. I stumbled upon this one about a year ago and haven't been back to it since. I had forgotten how good it is and how well the explanations are. I tried to download it so I can read it later but the graphics never came with it, much the pity.

[Debra Norton]

Ngaire, I use a wood palette made by Lee Boynton. I keep mine clean, some of my fellow students have let theirs become grey or reddish brown by just smearing the paint around on it at the end of the day. I really have no reason for keeping mine clean except that I'm kind of a neat freak and I like it that way. It seems to me that you'll get used to whatever you choose to use. I had to use a cheap, heavy, lighter colored palette the other day and it made me realize how much I depend on the color of my good one.

About using white under glass, I think it depends on how you paint. If you tone or do a lay-in immediately, you no longer have a reason to have a white palette because you're not working on a white surface.

[Ngaire Winwood]

Thanks Deb.

It intrigued me to think that if I used a different coloured underpainting ranging from greys to sienna or even white etc, would one change their board to suit.

It looks as though artists have their favourite and just stick with it whether the underpainting colour is changed or not, like you mentioned.

[Mary Jane Ansell]

Glad to link was of interest Ngaire,

I will try to get a chance to post a photo of my palette but can't seem to get a moment just yet...

I must admit I do sometimes change the palette and ground to grey, for example when I work on smaller life studies at night, it gives such a different feel to the work (which I guess is very much the key to what kindof palette/ground one ends up preffering) but as I say generally I paint almost Alla Prima onto the white canvas so establishing the colour and values immediately.

It's been very interesting to hear other peoples preferences.