Tales of the Sta-Wet Palette

This is a little story about my Masterson Sta-Wet Palette. I use it when I paint with acrylics. I have the Super Pro palette, which provides a large surface for mixing paints, The palette consists of a large plastic tray that holds a re-usable acrylic film over a large sponge. The damp surface keeps the acrylic paints moist. So far I have been fairly happy with the palette, but after recent events I am here to say I love it!

The last time I painted in acrylics was the last week in February. When I finished that painting, I fully intended to do another painting a few days later so I closed up the palette and set it aside for what I expected to be a day or two. I left a large glob of titanium white plus a few other colors in the palette for the next painting. I have been in the habit of putting the palette in the refrigerator because the palette can become smelly if left at room temperature for a few days, and if left too long mold can develop. I have found that refrigeration keeps the palette from getting smelly and discourages mold.

Good thing I put it in the refrigerator. A few days later I woke up with a sore throat and runny nose -- in other words, a common cold. Which became bronchitis.Which hung around for two weeks. And then, after starting to feel good enough to go back to my usual routine I got the double whammy -- another "cold"!

I'm finally feeling good again, In the mean time I have been dreading opening up the palette to see what kind of mess was inside. I finally got up the nerve tonight. To my surprise there was no mold, no awful smells, and all the paint was still usable! I scooped the titanium white and a couple of the other untouched colors into small containers and set them aside. Then I rinsed out the palette paper and sponge. Now I'm ready to go back to work!