Porcelain Watercolor Palettes
A few posts ago, I blogged about the current palettes in my studio and how I love big mixing spaces. Well, today I stopped by a local art store (Davinci Artist Supply) and stumbled upon this giant beautiful porcelain palette that resembled the Tom Lynch Porcelain Palette without all the brush holders. I had extreme difficulty resisting the urge to just pull out my money and walk out the door with it. Porcelain palettes are usually well-known to range from $50-$75 for any size over 12". This one measured a great 16" by 12" with 21 slanted big wells. Imagine my surprise when I found it it was only $27!!!
New shiny palette!
Opera Pink from Daniel Smith is by far my favorite pigment right now. So bright and lovely!
Back in 2013, I bought a Stephen Quiller porcelain palette and it still remains my favorite to this day. I enjoy large mixing areas and generously sized wells so the brush can easily grab paint regardless of the size of the brush. This palette from DaVinci Artist Supply is wonderful for the price even if it doesn't come with a cover that most porcelain palettes have. I could not wait to fill up all the wells with paint and helped myself to a few tubes of Daniel Smith watercolors on my way out.
Colors are buttery smooth on this palette with no staining at all and remains vivid so you can see the true colors of the pigment before painting.
Wells are all filled with my favorite brands of paint now and a few Daniel Smith colors
Colors are crisp and bright on porcelain
I mentioned in a previous post from the different watercolor palette types on why porcelain continues to be my favorite type from the selection available. Porcelain is easy to clean and paints are true to color so you don't have to guess if it's lighter or darker than what is seen. Additionally, a huge pet peeve of mine is watercolor paint beading up on a palette which does not happen at all on porcelain. The only drawback to porcelain palettes is that they're generally more expensive and heavier than plastic palettes or the metal boxes.
Here's a sneak peek of a sketch I'm working on in my Stillman and Birn Beta journal. It's a dream to have such a large white mixing space! This space is actually slightly bigger than the Stephen Quiller mixing space.
Glorious mixing space!
Close-up of my current work-in-progress sketch
I've been in a really "rainbow" mood lately and my art continues to reflect that mood. I still need to get it out of my system somehow because I'm leaning toward more colorful and vibrant paintings recently.
Hopefully a peek into my palette selection has helped or inspired you to find your 'perfect' palette too! What type of palettes do you prefer? Do you like porcelain too or do you prefer something lighter?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below and stay tuned!