Palette Seal products vs. tupperware?

[Marcus Lim]

Originally Posted by Julie Deane

I put my paints on a piece of glass that fits inside the palette, then pour water over the paint until each pile is covered.

Hi Julie,
Question: How do you "dry" the blobs of paints when you're ready to use them again?

I'm asking because, many times here i read about artists who put their paint globs immersed in water, or put inside the freezer. But i've never heard how they keep moisture off from the paints when we're ready to paint them again. I wonder if i can hear your experience?

[Julie Deane]

Hi Marcus -

I lift the paint globs out with a palette knife. I either turn the palette to let the drops of water run off or just let them evaporate. Sorry, I'm not that big a technician, but it hasn't been a problem.

I've just started using this palette with the water. What I am trying to learn now is to recognize when the paint is getting dryer than I want after it's been sitting a while and .....letting it go. It takes so much paint and time to pre-mix my colors that it can be somewhat painful to do.

The painting I'm finishing now I have been working on a month. I added a little bit of clove oil to the stiffer paints to extend their drying time. They then went into the water. I got by with re-doing the entire batch only once mid-way, and then at the end, I just mixed a few colors fresh on the palette, since I didn't need all the paints to use at that point.

My preference would be to freshly mix my paints every time I sit down at the easel, but life interferes. I work full-time at a stressful job, have the usual household duties, and am trying to build a portfolio and do commissions. So this works for me.