Quick answer: What is a paint palette? It is the flat surface, tray or board an artist uses to hold and mix paint while painting. It can be made of plastic, wood, glass, ceramic, metal or disposable coated paper, and some have wells for watercolor or sealed lids for acrylics. The word “palette” also describes the specific set of colors an artist chooses for a painting, which is why you may hear about a “limited palette” or “warm palette.”
Ask ten painters what a palette is and you may get two different kinds of answers. Some will point to the object on their table, smeared with color. Others will talk about the six or eight tubes they always use. Both are correct, and understanding both meanings makes it easier to buy the right tool and to plan better paintings.
This guide explains what a paint palette is, the main types and materials, which one fits each medium and how to use a paint palette as a beginner. When you are ready to choose one, our roundup of the best painting palettes for beginners narrows down good first options.
What Is a Paint Palette Used For?
A physical palette has three main jobs:
- Holding paint. Colors are squeezed out or stored in wells so they are ready to pick up with a brush or knife.
- Mixing color. Very few paintings use colors straight from the tube. The palette provides a clean area to blend new hues, tints and shades.
- Controlling consistency. Painters thin or thicken paint on the palette with water, mediums or solvent before it touches the canvas or paper.
Some palettes add a fourth job: keeping paint workable. Sealed and stay-wet designs slow drying so acrylics last longer, while watercolor tins let dried paint be rewetted for the next session.
The Two Meanings of “Palette” in Art
| Meaning | What it refers to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Physical palette | The object used to hold and mix paint | “I mix on a glass palette.” |
| Color palette | The set of colors chosen for a painting or used by an artist | “This landscape uses a palette of blues and earth tones.” |
The second meaning grew out of the first: the colors laid out on an artist’s palette became shorthand for their color choices. Today the phrase “color palette” is used in design, fashion and digital work too, but in painting it still refers to the actual paints you put out.
A Short History of the Artist’s Palette
The classic image of a painter holding an oval wooden board with a thumb hole dates back several centuries in European painting. Those hand-held palettes let artists stand at an easel and keep colors close to the canvas. They were typically made of thin hardwood, oiled to seal the surface, and many painters toned them a mid brown to match the warm grounds they painted on.
Watercolor painters developed different solutions: ceramic dishes with wells, and later portable metal boxes holding cakes or pans of paint. Disposable palette paper and plastic palettes arrived much more recently, along with sealed boxes designed for acrylics, which became widely available in the mid twentieth century.
Types of Paint Palettes
Flat palettes
A smooth, open surface with no wells. Best for thick paints like oils and heavy-body acrylics that are mixed with a knife. Glass, wood, plastic and paper palettes often fall into this group.
Well palettes
Plastic or porcelain trays with round or slanted wells and separate mixing areas. Designed for fluid paints such as watercolor, gouache and thinned acrylic, which would run on a flat surface.
Hand-held palettes
Shaped boards with a thumb hole, used when standing at an easel. Traditional for oil painting, and available in wood, plastic and lightweight acrylic sheet.
Disposable palette paper
Pads of coated paper sheets that are torn off and thrown away after use. Popular for their easy cleanup.
Stay-wet palettes
A shallow box with a damp sponge layer and a porous membrane on top, plus a lid. Water wicks up through the membrane to keep acrylic paint soft for hours or days.
Airtight or sealed palettes
Boxes with tight lids that slow evaporation. Used for acrylics and oils to save paint between sessions.
Watercolor tins and travel palettes
Metal or plastic boxes holding half pans or full pans of dried watercolor, with fold-out mixing areas. Paint is reactivated with a wet brush.
Palette Materials Compared
| Material | Strengths | Weaknesses | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic | Light, cheap, many shapes | Can stain, scratches over time | Acrylic, watercolor, beginners |
| Porcelain or ceramic | Does not stain, watercolor beads less | Heavy, breakable | Watercolor, gouache |
| Wood | Traditional, comfortable to hold | Needs sealing, absorbs if unsealed | Oil painting |
| Glass | Flat, non-staining, scrapes clean | Heavy, edges must be safe | Oils, studio acrylic |
| Metal (enamel) | Durable, portable | Enamel can chip | Watercolor travel sets |
| Coated paper | No cleanup | Disposable, ongoing cost | Oils, acrylics, classes |
Palette Shapes and Sizes
Size matters more than many beginners expect. A palette that is too small forces colors together and leaves no room to mix, which leads to muddy color. One that is too large can be awkward to hold or store.
| Size or shape | Typical dimensions | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Small well palette | About 6 to 8 inches across | Watercolor sketching, kids, travel |
| Medium rectangular | About 9 x 12 inches | Most beginner acrylic and oil work on small canvases |
| Large rectangular | About 12 x 16 inches or larger | Big paintings, many colors, knife mixing |
| Oval or kidney hand-held | Varies, often 10 to 16 inches long | Standing at an easel |
| Round flower-shaped | About 6 to 10 inches across | Watercolor and gouache with several wells |
A useful rule of thumb is to pick a mixing surface at least as large as a sheet of letter paper for canvases up to about 16 x 20 inches. Bigger paintings often need bigger mixes, and bigger mixes need room.
Mixing on a Palette: Knife or Brush?
Both tools work, but they suit different paints. A palette knife mixes thick oil and acrylic more thoroughly, keeps colors cleaner because the steel wipes clean in one pass, and spares your brushes from paint packed into the ferrule. A brush is the natural choice for watercolor and gouache, where paint is fluid and mixed in wells.
Many acrylic and oil painters keep one inexpensive brush just for mixing and save their better brushes for painting. That way, any wear from scrubbing paint around the palette happens to a brush that does not matter.
Which Paint Palette Fits Each Medium?
- Watercolor: well palettes in porcelain or plastic, or a tin with pans. Watercolor needs wells to hold puddles of wash.
- Gouache: well palettes work; some painters use a stay-wet palette to keep it from drying.
- Acrylic: stay-wet or sealed palettes for longer sessions, palette paper or plastic for quick work.
- Oil: glass, wood or palette paper. Oils dry slowly, so an open flat surface is fine.
- Mixed media and kids’ crafts: simple plastic well trays are inexpensive and easy to wash.
How to Use a Paint Palette for Beginners
- Pick a layout and stick with it. Arrange colors around the edge in the same order each time, such as white, yellows, reds, blues, greens, browns and black.
- Squeeze out modest amounts. A pea-sized blob is a good start for acrylic or oil. Add more as needed.
- Keep white separate and generous. You will use more white than any other color in most paintings.
- Mix in the center. Use a palette knife or a dedicated mixing brush to pull colors together in the open area.
- Clean your tool between mixes. Wipe the knife or rinse the brush to avoid muddy colors.
- Test before painting. Try a small stroke on scrap paper or the edge of your canvas.
- Clean or store when done. Wash plastic or ceramic, scrape glass, tear off paper or seal the lid on a wet palette.
A Simple Starter Setup by Medium
| Medium | Palette type | Extra items |
|---|---|---|
| Watercolor | Plastic or porcelain well palette, or a pan set with a mixing lid | Two water jars, paper towel |
| Acrylic | Stay-wet palette or palette paper pad | Palette knife, spray bottle |
| Oil | Glass, wood or palette paper | Palette knife, rag, lidded solvent or oil jar |
| Gouache | Well palette or small stay-wet palette | Spray bottle, small mixing brush |
If you are comparing specific products for any of these setups, the beginner palette picks we keep updated are grouped by medium.
How to Use a Color Palette When Painting
Choosing your color palette is as important as choosing the object. A thoughtful set of colors can make a painting feel unified.
Start with a limited palette
A classic beginner set uses a warm and a cool version of each primary plus white: for example, a lemon yellow and a warmer yellow, a crimson-type red and an orange-leaning red, an ultramarine blue and a phthalo or cerulean blue. From these you can mix most colors.
Try a three-color palette
Painting with just one yellow, one red and one blue plus white teaches mixing quickly and produces naturally harmonious results.
Choose a temperature
Leaning a painting warm (more yellows, reds and earth colors) or cool (more blues, greens and violets) is a simple way to set mood.
Add earth colors for convenience
Colors like yellow ochre, burnt sienna and burnt umber make natural tones and neutrals easy to mix, and they are typically inexpensive.
How to Use an Artist Palette at the Easel
A hand-held palette rests on your forearm with your thumb through the hole. Balance it so the heavier end sits against your arm, and hold a few brushes in the same hand. Keep colors near the outer edge and mix toward the thumb hole. If you find holding a palette tiring, a side table or taboret placed next to your easel works just as well and frees both hands.
Physical Palette and Color Palette Working Together
The two meanings of palette meet every time you set up to paint. A limited color palette of five or six paints fits comfortably on a small mixing surface and leaves plenty of open space. A larger color selection needs a bigger physical palette, or colors end up crowded and mixes get muddy. Planning both at once, which colors and how much room they need, makes each session smoother.
Caring for Your Paint Palette
- Plastic: wash after each session with soap and water; staining from strong pigments is normal and does not affect use.
- Ceramic: rinse and wipe; avoid dropping.
- Wood: scrape and wipe after use; reapply a thin coat of linseed oil periodically if unsealed.
- Glass: scrape with a razor scraper, then wipe.
- Stay-wet: refresh the water and replace the membrane and sponge when they become stained or start to grow mold.
Common Beginner Mistakes With Palettes
- Squeezing out too much paint, especially acrylic, which dries quickly.
- Crowding colors so they run into each other.
- Mixing everything with the same unrinsed brush.
- Using a flat palette for watercolor, which lets washes run.
- Choosing too many colors at once, which can lead to muddy or chaotic paintings.
FAQs
What is the purpose of a paint palette?
It holds paint and provides a surface to mix colors and adjust consistency before applying paint to canvas or paper.
How do you use a paint palette?
Arrange colors around the edge, mix in the center with a knife or brush, clean your tool between mixes and clean or seal the palette when finished.
What can I use instead of a paint palette?
A ceramic plate, a sheet of glass, wax paper or a plastic lid can work in a pinch. Avoid absorbent materials like paper plates without coating.
What is the difference between a palette and a color palette?
A palette is the physical surface for mixing paint. A color palette is the selection of colors an artist uses.
What type of paint palette is best for beginners?
It depends on the medium. Plastic well palettes suit watercolor, palette paper or stay-wet palettes suit acrylic, and glass or paper suits oil.
Do you need a different palette for each type of paint?
Not always, but it helps. Watercolor works best in wells, acrylics benefit from moisture-retaining palettes, and oils are easiest on flat glass or paper.
Final Thoughts
A paint palette is both a tool and a set of choices: the surface where color comes together, and the group of colors you decide to work with. Start with a palette type that matches your medium and a limited set of colors, then build from there. For specific recommendations sorted by medium and budget, see our guide to choosing a beginner painting palette.
