Managing the Artist’s Palette

A little tip I’ve learned through the years that might help other artists conserve the fast drying acrylic paint. The above photo shows my used palette on top of a new one as I transferred usable paint from the old to the new. Through the years I’ve learned to conserve and save my acrylic paint by frequently spraying it with water and storing it in the freezer when not in use. If I paint every day the original piles of pigment are good for 4-5 days, or until they are used up which ever comes first. It is time to transfer to a new palette when the old one is full of dried mixed color and the piles of paint begin to harden. I do this at the start of a painting session while the paint is still frozen. It is easy to scrape up a frozen clump with a palette knife and transfer it to a new surface. The photo shows that I’ve transferred all the usable paint, and after throwing away the old palette I will put out fresh paint for the missing colors. I prefer disposable paper palettes, they are light weight and easy to replace.

This is the week of Thanksgiving and a time to say thank you for all of our blessings. I will not be posting blogs for a few days while our family comes together to celebrate the holiday. Our family is exceptionally busy, our photographer son and his wife keep major travel schedules and our daughter and her family who care for a developmentally disabled child while raising two other amazing children spend every weekend on the ski slopes of Girdwood, Alaska, learning to become competitive skiers. And, of course, we are not the average couch potatoes. It is a rare and wonderful time when we can all be together. I am looking forward to being with our family.

Gail Niebrugge, Artist