How to make a Wet Palette for Acrylic Paints.

A what you say? A wet palette is a place to leave your acrylic paints for 2-3 weeks without drying out!

Really? Yup that’s right. If you’re like me, I don’t like to waste paint. Once set up, this is a no-nonsense cost-effective way of saving money. Each time you use it, it only costs you a couple of sheets of paper towel. That’s it!

Supplies needed:

-a flat shallow container with a lid, the larger the better so there’s lots of room to mix paint. (a disposable baking pan with lid can work just fine!)

-a plastic placemat that is white and smooth on one side

-paper towel

-scissors, or knife with cutting mat

-black marker

-water

-rubbing alcohol to clean up

-rag

1- Lay bottom of container on top of placemat. Use the bottom of the container as a guide and trace the shape onto the placemat with black marker.

2-Cut placemat to fit inside the plastic container. It may require some adjustments.

3-Place 2-3 pieces of paper towel on the bottom of the container, cutting the corners if needed. Fill the container with water to soak the paper towel. Tilt and let all excess water drain naturally from the container. No need to squeeze any water by hand.

4-Put placemat on top of wet paper towel, smooth/white side up. Place lid onto container to seal.

5-The wet palette is ready to go!

Check out the short video where I demonstrate the entire process including mixing some paints!

Tips on how to use: There are a couple of options.

a) You can squirt paint directly onto the placemat while it sits inside the container. If the container is too deep it may be less comfortable to maneuver with your hand while mixing.

b) First premix your paint on a separate surface then transfer the paint onto the placemat in the container.

I prefer the first method (a) but not when I was new to this. I enjoyed the freedom of working on a flat surface that wasn’t confined to a small area. But when I work on portraits, or have too many things on the go, I need a way for my paints not to dry!

Super big tip:

Sometimes it helps to very lightly spray the paints with water. There are a few scenarios that I do this. Remember, the wet palette works when the lid is on and the paints are not exposed to open air. However,

a) If I open the container to paint and I’ve got 5 colors mixed up and I know I’m only going to work with 2 of them, then I may spray the 3 I’m not using depending on how long I’m painting. Or, if I use all the colors for many hours, I will spray as I go.

b) The larger piles of paint take a long time to dry. A very small amount of paint that is spread thinly will dry a lot faster. Also, thinner paints dry faster than heavy body.

And when I say spray lightly, I use a very fine mist and hold the bottle at least 6 inches away and squirt once.

Where do I put the leftover paint?

The answers are endless depending on how much, and how thin or thick the paint is! I will use my fingers, a brush, palette knife or brayer.

-onto any paper: scrap, deli, brown kraft, rice

-my art journal to "break" the blank page

-add to an existing piece of art in the same color family

-brayer the paint onto a gelli plate and use rubber stamps

-use any mark making tool

And when there’s no paint left or I just want to throw it out…

I use a plastic kitchen pot scraper and wipe it onto an old rag or piece of scrap paper and dispose of it in the garbage. Nothing goes down the drain!

Wipe clean with a wet rag or baby wipe.

Any stains on the plastic placemat will come clean with rubbing alcohol.

Where did I get my plastic container?

The container in the photos is a Tupperware freezer mate that measures 9 x 12 x 1.5” (22.9 x 30.1 x 3.8 cm). It’s old and hard to find and I got it when I used to sell Tupperware. Any container will do but if it doesn’t have a lid, the container can be put into a plastic bag. I would suggest placing a piece of cardboard on top to prevent the bag from sagging and sticking to the paint. Make sense?

Got any tips? What do you use?