Then as I was searching around for more ideas I found this palette and I loved the idea of tiny individual containers, but what to use? Most jars I had where to big and all the other plastic containers I could think of were either square (like pill containers), probably not airtight, or had weird grooves (like my contacts cases). I think I've tried every kind of artist's palette ever, but none have really worked for me. Then I saw a soda bottle and this palette was born.
They're technically not doing anything to keep the paint wet, but I can mix more paint than I think I'll need, either in the bottle cap itself or on the glass palette. No worrying that I have to use the paint within 2-3 weeks (which is around what the others lasted), adding an alarm to remind myself to spray them keep them wet, or having them go all gross and runny. If you're using clear bottles you can tell what color they are like that or you can label them on the tops/bottoms.
. I still use the plate of glass for smaller variations and mixes, but they tend to be small and temporary. My only idea was an improved version of the one I had (thinner, better seal, & paint wells that sealed individually against the lid) but it would have been quite hard to make on my own. Anything that's larger than a spoon-full keeps wet for an hour or so without spraying. Than anything left over is stored. They'll probably keep indefinitely, but just in case I'm currently testing one to see how long the walls coated in paint (with the Open Medium) will stay wet (it's still wet a week in). If they dry, it doesn't matter. And I think it only kept in that relatively big little jar because I mixed in a lot of Golden Open medium.
You can also find this instructable over on my blog as a post.
Plastic bottle caps are the perfect size, plus most of them come with a little seal and I didn't have to buy anything. I tested them during a long painting session (for me, ~3 hours) and they were just perfect.
I was seriously considering switching to oils at one point unless I could find/make a palette that worked for me. The best was the typical DIY stay-wet palette (a sponge/paper towels & wax paper in an airtight box), but they all required me to remember to spray them with water every day, the paint would go runny in parts, and the wax paper would start to rip and in general felt weird under a palette knife. They're also really easy to clean because they're round. I tried a plastic sheet instead of wax paper, but the paint kept less and needed more spraying.
I've also tried just using a glass palette (which feels great with a palette knife) and storing away the leftover paint in a little jar (where it mixes to a gray that can be reused), but the pallet had to be constantly spray it so everything was wet enough to scrap off later (dried bits were a nightmare). When I'm done painting for the day I just screw the tops back on and put everything away. It's a thin layer and can be wiped off usually (if I'm using Open medium) or scraped off after the session
