Your Worst Nightmare About Wooden Palette Get Real
Why Use a Wooden Palette For Oil Painting?
Traditionally, wooden palettes were used to paint oil. They are lightweight and easy to clean. They also look beautiful.
Many images of artists at work are still around. Some depict an unfinished wooden pallet, like the one Vermeer employed.
To make a wooden palette, clean the surface with a drying oil like linseed. It is essential to keep the palette in good shape by applying an oily layer.
Lightweight
A wooden pallet is lighter than glass or tear-off pallets and can be easily positioned on the easel. The thickness of the wood makes it strong and sturdy. This stops it from bending when under pressure. It can also be sanded or stained to give it the color. A wood palette is more sturdy and resistant to fungi and insects than other materials. The wooden palettes are great for mixing acrylics with alkyds.
The most common wooden palettes are made from maple or pine. Both of these woods are resistant to the effects of warping and crazing. It is essential to select the wood that has been treated with heat to keep insects or fungi. This is essential to the longevity of the wooden palette. Additionally, the surface of a quality wood palette should be smooth and evenly sanded. It should also have low moisture content, which reduces the chance of cracks or wrinkling paints.
Another advantage of a wooden palette is that it is easy to keep clean. Painters can clean the palette after each painting session with a drying lubricant to make it more sanitary. Linseed oil is an excellent option because it is cheap, readily available and quick-drying.
The natural brown of a wooden palette is perfect to mix colors since it is similar to the predominant color of the canvas. This helps to avoid the impression that the colors appear as being darker or lighter than they actually are. Vermeer employed the standard wooden palette. In his inventory of 1676 it is noted that "tweeschilders eesels" (two easels for painting) and "drye paletten" (3 wooden palettes) were in the inventory. Frans van Mieris painted an image of a palette modeled after Vermeer in his allegorical figure in Pictura and Roger de Piles recommended painters to paint the flesh tones from light to dark on a wood palette.
Sturdy
Palettes made of wood have been utilized by artists for centuries due to the fact that they're durable and sturdy. They're light compared to tear-off or glass palettes and they're more sturdy than paper ones. This makes them easier to handle and use while painting. They are also an excellent choice for mixing oil paints and alkyds. However, it's important to choose a quality wooden palette that has been heat-treated. This process eliminates the fungi and insects that can damage the wooden palette.
A top-quality wooden palette will be smooth and well-made that allows your brushes to glide smoothly across it. It should be finished in dry oil to shield the wood against water and solvent damage and help it maintain its shape. You can buy pre-finished palettes that are ready to use, or you can build your own from raw wood. If you're using a wood palette, ensure that you clean it after each painting session. The paint that is left wet on a palette could cause it to warp or crack it over time.
Wooden Palettes remain popular with artists. They were the first mixing surfaces to be used for oil paints. They're lightweight, strong and can hold a significant amount of paint without breaking. They are ideal for mixing thick paints like acrylics, alkyds and other heavy-bodied ones.
In the days of Vermeer, a familiar palette with a hole for the thumb was replaced by the older rectangular kind with an handle. The thumb was used to support the palette, which allowed the artist to use his other fingers for brushes and the mahlstick.
Heat-treated hardwoods such as spruce and other hardwoods are used to create a high-quality palette. This eliminates any bugs or fungi. Heat treatment of wood makes it harder to scratch or sand its surface. After a few years of use a well-used, conditioned wooden pallet will have a smooth, almost glass-like surface. This is due to the build-up of thin layers of dry oils that allow the surface to retain its shape.
Easy to clean
If you are looking for a smooth, easy to clean palette that will last for a long time, then a wooden palette is the best way to go. This type of palette is popular among oil painters and will not break or shatter as a glass one. You can purchase a wooden palette that has been pre-oiled or seal it yourself. To do this, you'll require boiled linseed oil from the hardware store, nitrile gloves, and high-quality paper towels or rags (if it leaves bits, don't use it). The process of sealing a palette using drying oil fills in the tiny gaps in the wood and creates a smooth surface that improves with each painting you do.
After you have your palette oiled you will need to recondition it after every painting session. This is essential because it keeps paints flowing smoothly on the palette and shield your hands from solvents. Start by lightly sanding the palette using 180-grit paper. purchase used pallets will open the grain of the wood, allowing it to absorb oils more easily. Then, pour a small amount of linseed oil on the palette and then use a rag to apply it evenly to the entire surface. Allow the oil to dry for a few days.
If there is any remaining paint on your palette, a small amount of OMS sprayed onto the rag should be enough to eliminate it. Do not attempt to scrape the dried paint off using anything sharp as this will scratch and damage your palette.
If you are required to scrape dried paint from your palette, it's best to use the soft brush instead of a knife. If you scrape too hard, you could damage your palette.
Aesthetically pleasing
A wooden palette is an elegant and sturdy mixing surface. It makes you feel like an artist. It can be used for oil paints, as well as acrylics and alkyds. Its smooth surface is easy to clean and glides easily across the brush as you mix and pick up paint. Palettes made of wood are available in different sizes and are lightweight. They are available in different finishes and styles to suit your preferences.
The wooden palettes have been used since the beginning of art and are among the oldest mixing surfaces. The wood has a warm brown hue that doesn't affect the colors of the paints. This is important because the dominant tone is what affects the perception of color. A wooden palette can help you see the shades of your paints since it has a mid value that shows the hues.
The earliest palettes were constructed of tin foil or paper, but the ones Vermeer used were likely made of wood. In a 1676 probate inventories, two painters easels were listed, along with three palettes. In an allegorical painting of Pictura Vermeer's time, his contemporaries Frans van Meieris and Jan Vermeer used the same type of palette. A traditional wooden palette for oil painting is usually designed to hold the thumb hole, which is used to support the palette while the remaining fingers hold the brushes and the maulstick to steady the hand against the canvas while painting.
After a cleaning session Clean the surface of a wooden palette with dry oils - like linseed, or any other- to keep it conditioned for the next time you work with it. This will fill the tiny pores in the grain of the wood and create an even surface that is much easier for brushes to work on. Over the years, a well-oiled palette will develop a beautiful patina that will add to its appearance.