Easy DIY Wet Palette

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A wet palette will help keep your paints from drying out so quickly so that you can keep creating art with the original paint mixes you created at least for a few extra days.

Today, I’m going to show you how to make an Easy DIY Wet Palette using supplies you probably already have on hand. This is a great way to reduce waste and keep your paints wet longer. With this technique, you can keep your acrylic paint workable for days.

How often have you wasted paint because you had to walk away from an art project? The paints all dry out and you end up having to start from scratch. I’m going to show you how to avoid that.

Easy DIY Wet Palette

A wet palette that you purchase is typically a wet sponge and you place a piece of paper on top of it. Then, the paints go on the paper and there’s a lid so you can seal it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck with that type of palette no matter what I tried. The sponge would get really gross and it would mildew and it just didn’t work well in the humid Florida environment where I live.

The method that I’m going to show you is easy, inexpensive, and I’ve had really good luck with it. Let’s get started.

Supplies Needed:

• Sheet pan (anything shallow like this would work – cafeteria tray, medical tray, etc.)
• Parchment paper sheets – do not substitute waxed paper or tracing paper – the parchment paper worked the best)
• Parchment paper rolls
• Scott Shop towels – I like these better than regular paper towels. They’re stronger and aren’t textured.

How to Make the Wet Palette:

1. Cut the shop towels to fit perfectly in your sheet pan. You need at least 3 layers, but I like to use 4. Smooth them out so there are no bumps and wrinkles.
2. Add water to your pan. For a quarter sheet pan, I found that a cup of water worked really well. If the shop towels start lifting up along the edges, you haven’t used enough water. You’ll need to smooth them out again after adding the water. You can also do this by pouring in water and letting it soak in for a few minutes. Once you can see that the towels have absorbed as much water as possible, you can then pour off the excess. You want it quite wet but you don’t want any puddles of water sitting there.
3. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the tray. Lay it on top of the wet shop towels and smooth it out. You want to get as many of the wrinkles out as possible. Again, if this starts curling up along the edges in about an hour or so, you don’t have enough water on your palette. You don’t have to start from scratch – just add more water.
4. That’s it. Your palette is ready to use. Start adding paints to it and get creative! When adding your paints, remember to leave some space between them for mixing.
5. When you’re done for the day, you can leave your brushes and palette knives right on the wet palette and the paint on them will stay wet too!

Tips and Tricks:

If you ever do have a paintbrush that dries out, try cleaning it with some Naptha soap. It works really well! You can find it at your local grocery store. Lather it up really well and let it sit overnight. Use a nail brush to brush it out the next day. Sometimes, if the brush is really bad, you might need to leave it for two days, but usually, one day is plenty.

I just leave the wet palette the way it is in a safe spot and so far they have lasted me for at least 2 days. Obviously, the thicker the paint, the longer it will last. I don’t advise putting plastic wrap over it as that can create condensation and ruin your paints by watering them down.

Give it a try the next time you’re going to work on an art project with paint. If you create one of these wet palettes, share it on social media and use hashtag #livingtheartlife so I can see it too!