What's Goin' on in my Studio, My Head...

                                                              Watercolor Palette Construction

 

I made my studio watercolor palette 25+ years ago when I was living in NY.  I was cleaning my space one morning and for storage I set my slant palette in my butcher tray palette and thought Hmmmmm – perhaps this could work…

 

Though most watercolorists will easily recognize the three main elements of this palette – the butcher tray, slant palette and full/half pans of color – they Do Not fit together nicely and so I’ve described my process for putting it all together below.  I highly recommend that you read through all the directions first before beginning so you’ll understand where you’re going and the why’s of what we’re doing.  I’ll include links to all of the supplies at the end of the post.  See the illustration below as well for clarification.

 

You’ll need:

1. An 11 x 15 butcher tray
2. Sculpey polymer clay – the kind you bake in the oven – white, but any color will do
3. A standard slant palette
4. Full and half pans to hold your colors
5. Rubber cement
6. Your own watercolors
7. Patience – this takes some fiddling with to make it all come together.

 

Directions:

1. Be sure your butcher tray is super squeaky clean.
2. Shave the top plastic bit off your slant palette. (See illustration)  This part is tedious and a bit dangerous so be careful!  See the picture in the illustration to gauge how much I’ve taken off.  Use a very sharp knife and patiently whittle away at it.  The plastic is brittle and won’t tolerate a clean cut with a straight edge.  It takes a while, but remember, you’ll have this palette for Ever…..
3. Take your Sculpey Clay and roll it out with your hands on a clean board,  like you used to do with play-dough when you were a kid, into long even “snakes” the lengths of the sides of your butcher tray (see illustration).  Don’t make them too fat.  The idea is to support the pans of color so they’re about an eighth of an inch above the surface of your slant palette.  (You can see this height difference in the picture at the top left of the illustration regarding whittling the edge off the slant palette.)  The center of the butcher tray is raised and so it’s necessary to raise the pans up and set them on the Sculpey.  Make your snakes approximately the same width as the pans.
4. You’ll need two rows on one side or the other to have two rows of pans there to snug up to the slant palette.  Again – see the illustration.
5. *This step is Very Important* - pre-place All of your pans in the configuration you want them!  Push them down slightly into the Sculpey to mark their place and leave a little indentation as is indicated in the illustration. This will flatten the top of the Sculpey “snake” somewhat - that’s what you want.   Make sure the tops of the pans are all on an even plane and below the dark blue lip of the butcher tray - adjust them till they are.  Get them just the way you want them!  After your slant palette has been trimmed set that in the center too for a dry run.  Be sure it all fits snugly and properly.
6. Now – carefully remove the slant palette.
7. Next remove All of your plastic pans – very gently!  Disturb your carefully placed Sculpey as little as possible because you’re going to put it All back in after baking the Sculpey in the tray.
8. Place the whole butcher tray with the Sculpey into your oven and bake as per the instructions on the Sculpey packaging.  Be sure you have proper ventilation.  
9. After baking is complete, remove your butcher tray from the oven and let thoroughly cool.  Don’t move or touch your Sculpey snakes – leave them right where you put them. 
10. Rubber Cement:  While your Sculpey is baking in your butcher tray take your rubber cement and put an even but thin coat on the bottom of all of your pans.  Allow to dry completely!  Put rubber cement on the bottom-most parts of your slant palette as well and let dry also.  Be absolutely sure you have proper ventilation – very important!
11. After your butcher tray and Sculpey have cooled completely apply a thin, even coat of the rubber cement to each spot a pan will sit and put a few criss-crosses across the bottom of your butcher tray too.  You don’t need much.  Again – be sure you have proper ventilation – lots of fresh air.
12. After All of the rubber cement is Completely Dry!! It’s time to put it all together.  
13. Carefully place your pans in their places.  Be very accurate with this because once the rubber cement on the bottom of the pan “seats” on the rubber cement on its place on the Sculpey it will be Very difficult to shift!  You can pry it up and try again but that will mess up your seal.  The best thing to do if you need to do this is remove (easily peel) the rubber cement off of both surfaces and reapply it – let it dry completely and then re-place your pan into its spot.  Be sure each pan is pushed up against the edge of the butcher tray tightly (and to the pan next to it in the case of the second row of pans)  so your slant palette will fit well.
14. Next carefully place your slant palette into position in the center and press gently.

 

And there you have it!  Voila!  Fill your pans with your watercolors. The rubber cement will hold your pans in place indefinitely.  I’ve had mine for 25+ years and they’re still holding perfectly.  I can pry one out if I need and easily replace it.  The Sculpey has never budged.

 

If I want to change a color in a pan it’s easier for me to scoop the paint out with the end of a flat screw driver, pull the residual paint out with a very wet old brush and finish with a tissue – clean and ready for a different color.

 

Many years ago I had a piece of 1/8 inch plexiglass cut just a bit larger than the butcher tray, 12 x 16 inches and I just lay that on top of it to keep the colors moist and dust out.  I spray the whole palette with water about 15 minutes before I start working and replace the plexi cover so all my paint is ready to go. I like the clear cover so I can look at it and think color while I’m not using it.

 

Maintenance Note:  If you plan to leave your palette unused for a long time it Will grow mold. Let it dry out for as long as possible before packing it away and place some of those little silica packets on the slant palette before storing. This helps. If you do get mold, scrape it off your paint with a sharp knife. 

 

Color Notes:  I Love color!!!  I have a Lot of colors and while I have my basic color family – I use many others depending on the project.  I never Ever use all of the colors in any one picture or project at once!  This is my go-to palette for color exploration and ideas.  I generally pick a Very limited palette of colors from these after I’ve done my research and use a totally separate slant or porcelain palette with only those colors for the duration of the project and set this palette aside.

 

It’s been my buddy for more than 25 years and I hope will be for more than that to come –

Please email me if you have any questions -

[email protected]

 
 

Links:  

 

Sculpey Polymer Clay - Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/v723qbu

 

Butcher Tray Palette -  Dick Blick  https://www.dickblick.com/products/butcher-tray-palettes/

 

Slant Palette - Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/uuph8r5

 

Full Pans - Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/rpa2zsx

 

Half Pans - Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/tzjpsl2

 

Rubber Cement - Amazon  https://tinyurl.com/w6amahd

 

Many of the above supplies may be available to you locally.  Most any half or full pans will do.  I also like the Meeden brand very much and these are available on Amazon in larger quantities.  Also most rubber cements are the same, just be sure it’s fresh.