Palettes

I wish I could have all the money back that I have spent on art supplies of one type or another that just haven't worked out. Case in point: palettes. When I started using watercolors for pastel underpaintings, I bought the Richeson Lock Box, which seemed like a good idea at the time. I bought it with the slant insert. Then I bought the paper inserts, which I planned to use for acrylics. The problem is so much of the palette space is taken up by the locking mechanism in the center, which leaves a lot less space for actually mixing paint. I probably will continue to use the Lock Box for watercolors, but not for acrylic paintings. Mostly, thought, I mix my Senellier watercolors in the built-in palette of the metal case the paints came in.

After trying the Lock Box, I started reading good things about the Masterson Sta-Wet palette, so I decided to give it a try. I ended up buying the Super Pro Sta-Wet palette. The palette surface is 12 x 16 inches. For acrylic paints you use the supplied sponge covered by a disposable palette sheet. The wet sponge keeps the surface moist, to help keep the paints moist while painting. As a bonus, the lid of the Super Pro palette has indentations around the perimeter for watercolors, with a large surface for mixing.

Here is what my palette looked like today after cleaning off unused acrylic paint, rinsing and scrubbing:

I have used that particular palette sheet for three or four paintings. The pigments of the paints end up staining the sheet, but it still can be re-used. Or you can replace it with a new sheet.

If I frame the palette sheet and put it on eBay as an abstract work of art, how much do you think I could get for it?