Watercolor Palette Cleaning Tips

Today I'm sharing a few tips with my artist friends,

mostly learned through trial and error.
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I've learned the hard way, that sometimes there's a reason that I'm not getting the results

I am seeking when my painting

looks like crap is not so successful.

A less than ideal working palette

is a definite hinderance. Especially

when it is as disgustingly crusty,

globbed up, dry and dirty as mine was.

Case in point.
UGH!
When using a covered palette

with tube watercolors,

if you don't let it get this bad,

fresh pigment can be added to the

semi-hardened paint.

Then the two consistencies

can be stirred together with

a smidgen of water to reconstitute it.

However, I have been

neglecting my palette for months

and there was not much I could salvage!

I had to scrape out the old stuff that was

inundated with hard globs, brush hairs and

dirt. Then scrub the crust from the wells and

start with fresh squeezed pigment.

I used a butter knife, bristle brush, water and lots

of paper towels to accomplish the job.

When I finally got all the wells clean,

I squeezed out new pigment using my

handy dandy squeezer clamp.

As you probably already know

if you are still reading this,

pigments can be very expensive!

The tube squeezer thingy helps you get every

possible drop out of the tube. It's a real

money saver and a big thumbs up from me.

(The manufacturer's information is here on the gadget.)

Ah, now doesn't that look totally inviting?

My Pigment Colors from top left clockwise..... Cobalt Blue - Nice medium blue - has white in it Cobalt Violet - Nice non-staining violet - has white in it Cadmium Red Alizarin Crimson Ivory Black Burnt Sienna Yellow Ochre Naples Yellow - love this color, use it often, has white in it Titanium White - just started using this with my Yupos Lemon Yellow Gamboge - nice bright color - instead of Cadmium Yellow Olive Green - Lukas - love this - color varies by maker Hooker's Green Dark Phthalo Green Turquoise - American Journey - love this one - color varies Turquoise - Lukas - color varies by maker Phthalo Blue Ultramarine Blue   The supplies shown above are my current choice for a thorough cleaning and a total palette makeover. They are a paint tube clamp, bristle brush, butter knife, water and pliers (to pry off caps and squeeze the very last splotch of paint from tube). You will also need plenty of paper towels, water and a spray bottle. My palette is a Robert E. Wood covered plastic. If I am not painting for a couple of days, I uncover, spritz the paint with water, let it breath for a while, respritz then recover.  My Pigments - My color choices have changed recently due to working on Yupo paper. I am now using more pigments with white in them as they seem to bind to the synthetic paper better.  I prefer DaVinci brand tube watercolors for their consistency, quality and price but I also use Windsor & Newton, American Journey and Lukas. A word of advice; don't let your palette get so grungy. This project took me hours on Saturday afternoon. Yikes!! I hope you found a tip or two here that may be of some use to you. Happy creating!