Mr Lee's way of Wet Palettes

One of the biggest things that we learn in both the Beginners and again in the BAM class was the usage of the wet palette. Using it for the wet-on-wet technique, the glazing, the details, and just using it to mix up colors.

For most people now looking to up their game on painting they have invested in a wet palette of one sort or another.

I have tried what the Massive Voodoo boys use, which is a massive tupperware container, a huge foam insert, and some wax paper inside. They even have an article on it in their Tutorials sections here, which also harks back to references to 5th Dimension's blog as well! Their short video really shows you how to set it up, and a short how to use it as well.

Thing is, those tupperware containers are massive.. just like the MV guys in painting. But for me it is too big. So I have picked up and really enjoyed the ones from PK-PRO which are almost like DVD cases but with a more proper center section for holding water and foam and wax paper inside.

The upsides I see to it though are that it can be sealed ( close the lid ) and that it is thin. So I don't have to reach up and over to get at the paints. Downside of course is that it does not hold as much water, and in Istanbul, it can and does dry out at times. So I keep a bottle of water nearby to re-fill it or top it off at times.

The other thing for me is that this one from PK-PRO is small. I mean small in regards to the footprint of space it takes up on my desk.. and because of that I usually have 2 running at the same time. This was the case at the second BAM class. And what I found interesting was that Roman and Raffa had not thought of it first! Whoo hoo!

For me this was required more than anything while painting the Wild hunter bust. One was used for the skin, while the second was for the beard. This allowed me to switch back and forth between the colors as needed for corrections or for checking a tone variation at times.

Skin tones above, beard colors below. As you can see, the colors were separating often, but at least I was not having to remix up new batches for small touch ups all the time!

I have also used this in the past while working on table top commissions and my own pieces. Using one for a personal project that is going to take more time. And having the colors sitting, waiting for me to return to it, while the other is set up for some quick table top painting to break the monotony of detail painting.

I expect that I will move more and more into this in the future though as I begin to work on larger projects with increased details. Who knows, maybe if I get a larger desk, I might move to a third wet palette also! To really spread out the colors, and to keep my recipes alive throughout the whole piece. But then again it just might be mean that I am a messy painter ( I mean.. look at my palette! colors everywhere! ).

What do you all think? How do you use your wet palettes? Do you use wet palettes? And if so, was this helpful for you?

Tomorrow's post will be more about behind the scenes with the Massive Voodoo crew, and the ( to me at least ) legendary Shifu Heiko and his Kung Fu school! Stick around and check that one out.. it will have a ton of cool photos from the classes and in-between!