Wood, Glass or Plastic: Choosing a Palette
How wooden, glass and plastic palettes differ in use, and how to keep mixes clean without a complicated setup.
A palette is a mixing surface, not a badge. Wood, glass and plastic all work. They feel different under the knife, they clean differently, and one of them will match the way you actually paint. Choose for cleaning and for the amount of paint you mix, not for a picture of a studio you saw somewhere.
Wood
A wooden palette, often with a thumb hole, suits oil painters who hold the mixes in one hand and the brush in the other. The warm colour of the wood makes it slightly easier to judge tones that will sit on a toned ground, and slightly harder to judge a colour destined for white paper. Oil seeps into bare wood. A thin seasoning of oil, rubbed in and wiped, gives you a surface that does not drink the first mixes of the day.
Wood is pleasant and it is not casual to clean. Scrape leftover paint while it is soft. A neglected wooden palette becomes a geological record. That is charming for a week and muddy after that, because old colour sneaks into new mixes. A Three-Colour Palette You Can Finish is impossible to honour on a surface where every parent is already blended into the grain.
Glass and plastic
Glass is honest. Mixes look like themselves, and a razor or a scraper takes dry acrylic and oil off a pane that was made to be scraped. The drawbacks are weight, coldness and the chance of a break. Tape the edges if they are sharp. A sheet of glass over white paper is a fair studio palette. Do not carry it in a bag.
Plastic is the practical default for many people. A white plastic tray shows colour clearly for acrylic and gouache. It is light. Some plastics stain. Some flexible ones let dried acrylic peel off in a sheet after a soak, which is a genuine pleasure. Disposable paper palettes, a tear-off pad, suit oil if you hate cleaning and accept the waste. They are a poor place to learn subtle mixes, because the paper texture and the temptation to tear off a mess both interfere.
Stay-wet and the size of the surface
Acrylic painters lose paint to a skin. A stay-wet palette, or a simple damp box, answers that, and Slowing Acrylics That Dry Before You Are Ready explains the habit around it. The box is worth it if you return to the same mixes tomorrow. It is a nuisance if you paint once a fortnight and forget the sponge until it smells.
Whatever the material, leave more empty space than the tubes suggest. Crowded piles contaminate each other. A small white plate is a better palette than a large one you fill with every colour you own. Clean a zone for mixing greys, away from the bright yellows.
Cleaning without a ritual
Wipe oils while they are soft, with a rag, and keep the rag's safety in mind: do not pile oily cloths. Acrylic should be wiped before it sets, or soaked if the palette can take water. Brushes are a separate cleaning job, set out in How to Clean and Care for Your Paint Brushes. Do not use the palette as the place you stand brushes on their points.
At the end of the month, the right palette is the one that is clean enough to mix on. If yours is not, the material is not the failure. The size of the cleaning task is. Shrink the surface until you will actually scrape it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a thumb-hole palette? Only if you stand and hold it. At a table, a flat sheet that cannot tip is safer and usually larger. The hole is an ergonomic choice, not a standard of seriousness.
Which is best for watercolour? A white ceramic or plastic tray with wells. Wood drinks the washes. Glass works if it has a rim or you enjoy chasing a puddle. The well matters more than the romance of the material.
Can I mix on a dinner plate? Yes, a plain white one. It is a plastic or ceramic palette you already own. Keep paint away from food, and do not return that plate to the table.