Oil Painting Techniques: Make a Good Palette.
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In today's lesson on oil painting techniques, I want to go over how to make a good palette.
I consider a good palette very important when painting in oils. It affects every color you make and how you make them. So, I will be going over what to look for when buying one, and some tips on how to make your own.
I usually just make my own since I'm very picky. I want it to be a very exact size and color. I'm working off of a small painting table that is sort of like a cabinet (for more pictures of this see the about the artist page), so I want a palette that fits on top neatly.
Not all oil painting techniques are about "painting." The equipment that you use will have a strong effect on the quality of your work. Not to mention that it is much easier to work with good equipment.
My palette...
I use glass because it is smooth and somewhat easy to clean. It is non-absobant as well. I painted the under-side of the glass a medium tone neutral gray as you can see in the picture. I do this for several reasons.
I use this gray color because it helps me see both the true value and saturation of each color. In the picture, you can see how the lights stand out and the bright, vivid colors are easy to identify. This helps when I want to tone down a color and make it less saturated. Since gray is the most neutral and least saturated color, I can see what colors are muted very easily.
What's wrong with white?
On a white palette, the colors all appear darker. As you can see, a lot of oil paints are very dark. So, a medium dark color helps the colors appear their true value.
If you had to choose another color, any neutral brown will do provided that it has no distracting textures or patterns, is not too dark or too light, and is very smooth and easy to work with.
The whole idea of using a neutral colored palette comes from the way some people paint. It is common practice to tint the canvas a neutral brown or gray color before painting. This helps you see the values and true colors. White makes everything appear a bit darker. So, why not apply this technique to your palette as well? Of course, I don't always tint the canvas first, but then it really depends on what I'm doing. But, that is another story entirely.
How big?
For size considerations, I go with a fairly large size to give plenty of room for mixing. It will depend on how much room you have to work with of course, but give yourself plenty of space to mix different colors. My palette is about 17x27" though I've used a smaller more portable one at times.
If you use glass, have it cut at a store. I had mine cut at a print store (make sure they smooth the edges), but you'll just have to ask around to see who can do it. Hardware stores may be able to help as well. You can buy lots of premade palettes, just keep in mind the things I have mentioned. Also, I painted the under-side of the glass to keep the top clean. You can also place a sheet of painted paper or cardboard under the glass so you don't have to paint the glass. I use regular house paint for this (very cheap).
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