Painting Palettes

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In short

Choose a painting palette by paint type and the way you work: an oiled wooden palette with a thumb hole is for oils and acrylics at the easel, an oval plastic palette with wells washes clean with water, and a tear-off paper palette is simply torn off and thrown away after painting.

A painting palette is a surface for mixing paints – wooden, plastic, paper, metal or porcelain, in various shapes and sizes. Below you’ll find which painting palette suits which type of paint.

Which painting palette suits which paint?

Palette What for and why Examples
Wooden palettes oils and acrylics; MABEF oiled beech wood doesn’t absorb binder or solvent; thumb hole MABEF oval 20 × 30 cm · MABEF oval 30 × 40 cm · MABEF oval 35 × 45 cm · MABEF rectangular 35 × 45 cm · Daler-Rowney 20 × 30 cm · Royal Talens 16 × 25 cm
Plastic palettes palettes with wells (round, oval) for squeezing out and mixing paint; Daler-Rowney smooth non-absorbent board without wells – wash it with water after acrylics, clean it with solvent after oils; mini hand palette in clear plastic Daler-Rowney 22 × 30 cm · round, with 10 small wells and 1 large well · oval, with 10 wells · clear hand palette 75 × 75 mm
Tear-off paper palettes disposable sheets – after work, tear off the sheet and throw it away (Clairefontaine in a pad, no cleaning) Nassau 40 sheets, acrylic, oil and watercolor · Clairefontaine 40 sheets, oil and acrylic
Metal palette non-absorbent, solvent-resistant surface for oils and acrylics Daler-Rowney 12 × 18 cm
Porcelain palette porcelain palette for the studio, 0.47 kg Schmincke

If you’re just starting out, the Nassau set contains 4 round and 4 flat brushes and a wooden palette measuring approximately 30 × 24 cm.

Frequently asked questions

Which palette is best for oil painting?

Wooden or metal. MABEF palettes are made of oiled beech wood that doesn’t absorb binder or solvent, so your paints stay workable. Before using a Daler-Rowney wooden palette with oil paints for the first time, treat it with linseed oil so the wood doesn’t soak up paint and is easier to clean.

Which palette is best for acrylics?

The Daler-Rowney 22 × 30 cm plastic palette, made of smooth non-absorbent plastic, is suitable for acrylic, oil, gouache and tempera, and after acrylics you simply wash it with water. If you want to skip cleaning altogether, use a tear-off paper palette – just tear off the used sheet.

Is a paper palette suitable for watercolor too?

Nassau tear-off paper palettes made of special waxed paper are suitable for mixing watercolor, oil and acrylic paints. The Clairefontaine paper palette is designed for oil and acrylic.

How do you hold a painting palette?

MABEF, Daler-Rowney and Royal Talens wooden palettes have a thumb hole, so you can hold them comfortably in your hand while working at the easel. Read more in our article on how to hold a painting palette correctly.

Palettes and Tools Palette Knives and Painting Knives Brushes