I am a doll artist. My canvas is only 1” by 1 ½”! Pretty small so you would be surprised at how much paint I go through. I use acrylic paint… everything from the super expensive to the very cheap. They all serve their purpose one way or another. But one thing I have noticed through the years is how fast they dry out on my palette. In a couple hours time my paint has become basically useless to me.
I don't put a lot of paint on my palette to begin with because I paint small. I have prepared my paint before and suddenly something has come up and I have to set my work aside. I don't want to waste the paint whether something has come up or I want to take a break.
So I developed a way to make my paint last for days… here it goes.
I start with a bowl of ice. I like to use my Corelle cereal sized bowl. It fits my metal palette perfectly.
Next I cover my metal palette with foil. This way when I want to clean my palette, all I have to do is pull the foil off and discard it. Easy clean up!
I don’t need a lot of paint for what I do but this can work for anyone who uses acrylic paint.
When I am taking a break for lunch I just cover my palette with another palette. This will keep the paint from bleeding into each other.
Then I cover the whole thing with more foil to seal it.
Lastly, I put my palette in the refrigerator. I have left paint in there for a week and it is still perfect when I take it out.
The real trick to start with is that bowl of ice under your palette. It keeps the paint fresh and moist while you are painting. I just pop my bowl in the freezer so I always have a bowl of ice.
In today's economy it is always good to know you can make things last and stretch them as far as they can go.
Happy painting! LL
