How to Organize Painting Palette

A discerning painter understands thay their painting palette needs to remain well organized. Apparently, a well-organized palette will make work very easy and the task is up to an individual painter habits.

There are no set rules to organize a painting palette, and it is all up to the painter to decide how they want to organize it. Since this is purely a subjective matter, there are a few guidelines that one can follow to stay organized.

The choice of palette

The place to begin with organizing the painting palette is with the palette itself, whereby you need to ensure that it is made of non-porous material, which will prevent oil absorption into the palette. Pallets are made of all kinds of materials including plastic, wood, glass and even metal; the choice is purely the painters as long as the palette does not permeate paint or oil through it.

Begin with a small section of colors

When you are starting as a painter, it is good to begin with a tiny section of colors. This is because too many colors on the palette make it confusing for a beginner. One of the major mistakes that new painters make is to mix too many colors on the palette and will commonly lead to muddy colors. The best thing is for you to begin with a small number of colors, and then as you become acquainted or better experienced, you can increase the number of colors on the palette.

Lay out the colors consistently each time

When you lay out the colors on the palette the same way each time, you soon begin remembering where each color is effortlessly and probably without having to look at the palette. This will increase your painting speed and ensure that you get the paintings flow consistently without slowing down to look for a particular color.

Squeeze a good amount of paint into the palette

Ensure that you put the paints close to the palette and squeeze out a good amount of paint before you begin. Having to stop every few minutes to add paint is frustrating and time wasting, and then use the interior of the palette to mix the colors.

The best idea is to avoid squeezing the paint in dribbles rather, squeeze it out in line. As you continue painting, you will notice that the colors can cross contaminate each other. However, when you squeeze out the paint in lines, this means that you can remove contaminated paint from the edges and have a line of clean color for use.

Keep the palette knife clean

Ensure that you keep the palette knife clean at all times and free of colors to prevent them from getting muddy. It is also imperative that you wipe the palette knife regularly with alcohol because after the oil paint dries, it will become difficult to remove.