How to save paint on pallet for the next painting

BStonebridge

when a painting is completed and there is substantial paints left on the palette how to save it if next painting might be in another week or two?

TheLandscapePainter

BStonebridge I am absolutely tight when it comes to putting paint on my pallet in the first place. I sometimes end up having to squeeze out a bit more but I find this way I don't waste much. Even so, I think I will do what dracula suggested, that's a great tip, you could always use leftovers for just blocking in colour when at the start of your painting when the colour doesn't matter so much. It would get used up in no time. A good base for mountains, tree trunks etc.

dracula

I'm not sure if this will help, but I keep two sealable jars for extra paints I scrape off my palette: one for light colors and one for dark colors. These are just catch-all jars I can use if I need a weird milky brown or a chromatic black. I tend to only grab (mostly) unmixed colors out their original piles. It's not ideal, but better than throwing away expensive paints...maybe.

Ian_Adkins

Little food service cups, like the kind you get with takeout for ketchup, salsa, etc.

BStonebridge

TheLandscapePainter thanks for the info, will have to cut in half what i originally take out and then get additional when needed.

DavidT

TheLandscapePainter
Being new I often squeeze out too much of some and not enough of others. Either way, I get paint all over myself when I squeeze. How do you keep your tubes not messy so you can handle during painting?

If Bob is not running in the background and I'm moving at David speed, I'll think to put on some gloves since I have a million boxes these days. Maybe clean up the pallet, take a breath. Step back, which I don't do enough.

Great thread, @BStonebridge Thanks.

happylittletreeshhi

I have a palette with cups with lids on it; it has a dozen cups so I have two to ensure I can hold all my colors. They are removable, cleanable, and store the color. A skin still develops after 5 - 6 days in there, but it holds the paint underneath for up to 2-3 weeks.

BStonebridge

interesting, is this a home made palette or store bought if so where bought?

happylittletreeshhi

BStonebridge I get them for like $5 at craft stores!

Sunnylady

I freeze pallet with the left over paints: they last 3 weeks easily in the freezer. Brown colors dry quick even in the freezer may be in 1-1.5 weeks. But it is the nature of the pigment. I find the freezing very useful when I work on the long lasting project and need to understand what i mixed before and get to the closest on the pallet before touching painting.

Check this link: https://youtu.be/aTsuBqAEgnw There is tip about storing leftovers.

BStonebridge

Sunnylady thanks for the info the link also helped

TheLandscapePainter

DavidT Have you tried "painters glove"? its a liquid you rub into your hands before you start, it really does replace the need for gloves which often cause more problems than they are worth. Your tubes shouldn't get messy really if you are using a firm paint like bob's brand but I find that if you wipe the tubes before putting them away and wipe up spills and smudges as you go along you don't have much of a problem. I used to have a problem with messy brushes. I'd put the brush down then put another one near it and they'd transfer paint to each other. Now I wipe my brush on a kitchen roll before putting it down. I also find that I can then reuse the brush with a different colour without having to wash it. This way I only have to wash my brushes once, at the end.

Sunnylady

DavidT since I developed some reaction to the thinner I prefer to use nitrile gloves when a lot of brush washing is expected during painting. I keep gloves on for the final clean up of brushes and pallets and saving used solvent for reuse. I also reuse nitrile gloves for quite a long time. Sometimes they last more than 5 paintings. I get happy when I can reduce amount of waste from my painting session. 🙂 paper towels are the worst in the waste reduction... I fight with myself to get better in waste minimization. Not really a painting topic though. 🙂

DavidT

Sunnylady Gloves, yes. I've been using them too since I have a huge stash of PPE. I like the nitrile gloves too, they fit well and I can work in them if I wish. I do not reuse them though. Paper towels I've been buying by the case.

wybnormal

No gloves here.. I used them with my spray paint art but not oils. I get some on me but I keep a couple of cotton rags handy to dry the brushes on and they normally have enough leftover thinner to give the hands a quick wipe down. Soap and water cleans the rest at the end of the session. I'm not a fan of "beating the devil " out of my brushes.. I just wipe them down a few times with the rags. Paper towels.. yeah, I use the more expensive shop rated paper towels. They are bigger, thicker and don't shed or tear when I use them.

DavidT

Thanks everyone, for the conversation. I have discovered many things over these last weeks. One, if I slow down, I don't get as messy! Not having the laptop running while I paint has slowed me down too, another good thing. Understanding that Bob only had 27-minutes when I have two hours, took a while to sink in. Visualize what I want in my head as opposed to copy what I see Bob doing.

Going slower, I'm not using as much paper towel. I did switch to blue, and I like to wipe the brushes dry, which helps me slow down also. I'm up to four each of the 1" and 2" so I don't need to wash as much, thanks to some "great" sales. I've read and seen many tips, like wiping a brush between taps. Even my fan brush can get "clumpy."

I'm certain I see Bob beat the devil out of his brush and then wipe it along his blue jeans! It seems Bob does wipe his brushes on a paper towel, but he only uses one sheet of paper towel per painting?. The only time it seems Bob gets paint on his hands is when he touched the canvas to show me how much liquid white.

It seems to come with time and practice though, so I find all this satisfying and fun and wonderful. Thanks again.

wybnormal

That "slowing down" helps when you are learning but "speed painting" can really help when you are more comfortable with the brushes and how the oils behave. Learning to think fast on your feet and to be more "instinctive" as to how to use the brush pays off when you slow back down. When I was a professional photographer, I used to "speed shoot" many of my sessions.. I learned to be very instinctive when setting the camera and how to shoot. It helped the clients to relax when I wasnt standing there fiddling with the gear. Now, instead of the clients relaxing, it's me relaxing because I'm more comfortable with the gear.. aka.. brushes and paint. Again, during photoshoots, my best work was 90% taken at the very end of the session when everyone was loose and honestly, a bit tired 😃 My best oil painting has been when I'm a bit tired and not as tense. While painting I perk up so the tired thing doesn't impact me much. I've stopped trying to watch Bob at 100 MPH.. I just do a screen print and pin it next to my canvas. I started doing that when I understood that often times, he swaps paint brushes from a half dozen sitting there vs trying to clean the same one. Really, the only way to get it done in 25 mins or so.

The very last painting I did, I had a few of each brush and just switched with the occasional cleaning. I can highly recommend this as a way to reduce stress 😃 It was soooo much easier for me to just switch a brush vs cleaning/wiping then reloading only to see I hadnt got it quite dry enough :/ The trick is to have enough space to lay them down without getting everything covered in paint.

I will also add that on virtually every painting, I walk away for some hours or even a day and come back to it for adjustments/detail work. I'm learning that I do not have to get it all done in a single sitting even though Bob seems to do it that way.

TheLandscapePainter

wybnormal haha your comment made me laugh. I used to speed face-paint at kids parties, and I was proper good at it too. I agree it makes a difference to you when you slow down after that and take your time, it really does make for great results. I think it will be a while before I can speed-paint an oil painting though. Well, I could but it wouldn't be very good.

BStonebridge

i uploaded a BR original too soon, i want to delete and re-load since I have made repairs, "evening at the falls" ran out of canvas and had to do major reconstruction to get it so that i am pleased with the results. has anyone ever deleted a painting. Advise is appreceipated.

wybnormal

BStonebridge I did something like that but I just added the 2nd copy so people can see the first one and then see the second version 🙂

Cronenberg89

BStonebridge I was able delete one for the same reason. Then just upload the new version.