subject: How to choose palettes & palette knife for your oil painting? [print this page] How to choose palettes & palette knife for your oil painting?
A palette is a portable surface that you use to hold your paint while you're working. You use the palette to create a blend of tube colors, to test colors, and to create your selection of colors to use for a painting. The surface must be smooth and impermeable to keep the paint from soaking into the surface. The color of the palette must be neutral (white is best) so that you can see and accurately judge the color that you're making.
The classic palette is a kidney-shaped wooden panel with a hole for your thumb. This panel would be seasoned by applying oil to make the surface smooth and impermeable. But today, most artists use a glass palette. The glass palette has smooth, rounded edges and an enameled backing of white paint. For the sake of convenience, many beginners use a disposable palette. You can buy a glass palette or a disposable palette from art suppliers.
Disposable palette pads are made up of tear-off sheets for easy cleanup. They come in various sizes 11 x 14 inches is good and are very convenient. They do generate a lot of trash, and you have to keep purchasing more.
Finding the right palette knife
A palette knife is a necessary tool for every painter. We urge you to get a metal palette knife, not a painting knife (which is very different). The spatula-shaped knife is more readily available. Its angled shape makes it easy to mix the paint on the palette. The spade-shaped knife costs a bit more, but it allows you to have more control while you mix the paint. After you use one for a while, you can get different shapes and sizes, but artists commonly use only one for years.
Don't get a plastic palette knife it's worse than useless. It's impossible to clean, and it will break on you when you need it the most.
