Quick answer: Here is how to use acrylic palette paper: set the pad on a flat surface with the coated, slightly shiny side facing up, squeeze small amounts of paint around the outer edge, and mix in the open center with a palette knife. Mist the paint lightly every 10 to 15 minutes to slow drying. When the sheet is full or dry, peel it off from the corner along the bound edge, fold it inward, and throw it in the trash rather than rinsing paint down the sink.
Palette paper looks like the simplest tool in the studio, and it mostly is. Yet a few small habits decide whether a sheet works smoothly for a whole session or turns into a curling, crusty mess within 20 minutes. Acrylics make those habits matter more, because they dry fast and form a plastic film the moment water evaporates.
This guide covers how to use acrylic palette paper step by step: which side to paint on, how to lay out colors, how to stop paint from drying, how to tear sheets off cleanly and when a different palette would serve you better. If you are still deciding what to mix on, our comparison of airtight and stay-wet acrylic palettes explains where paper fits next to other options.
What Acrylic Palette Paper Actually Is
Palette paper is heavyweight paper with one side sealed by a waterproof coating, usually a polyethylene or similar plastic layer. The coating stops paint and water from soaking into the fibers, so acrylic sits on top of the sheet the same way it would on glass or plastic. The back is normally uncoated.
Sheets come bound in tear-off pads, glued or taped along one or more edges. Common US sizes are 9 x 12 inches and 12 x 16 inches, with smaller pads made for travel and some larger sizes sold for oil painters. Most pads are bright white. Gray palette paper is also widely sold, and many painters prefer it for judging values, a point covered below.
It is not the same thing as the thin, porous membrane used inside a stay-wet palette. Standard coated palette paper does not let water pass through it, so it cannot keep paint wet from below. That difference trips up many beginners.
What You Need Before You Start
- A pad of palette paper sized for your painting. A 9 x 12 inch sheet comfortably holds 6 to 10 colors plus mixing room.
- A palette knife with a flexible steel or plastic blade for mixing. Mixing with a brush works, but it wears bristles and leaves more paint trapped in the ferrule.
- A fine-mist spray bottle filled with clean water.
- Paper towels or a rag for wiping the knife between mixes.
- Masking tape or a few clips in case the sheet curls.
- Optional: acrylic retarder or a slow-drying acrylic line if you work slowly.
How to Use Acrylic Palette Paper Step by Step
- Find the coated side. Tilt the pad under a light. The coated side has a faint sheen and feels smooth, almost waxy. The back is duller and slightly toothy. On most pads the top sheet is already coated-side up, but it is worth checking, because paint on the uncoated side soaks in, dries quickly and can bleed through to the next sheet.
- Keep the pad on a flat, stable surface. Leave the sheet attached to the pad while you paint. The thick stack under it gives a firm mixing surface, and the glued edge stops the sheet from sliding when you push a knife across it.
- Plan a layout. Place colors around the outside edge, leaving the middle open. A common order runs from white, through yellows, oranges and reds, to blues, greens, earth colors and black. Keeping the same order every session means your hand learns where each color lives.
- Squeeze small piles. With acrylics, a pea-sized to grape-sized amount of each color is plenty to start. You can always add more. Large piles skin over before you use them.
- Mix in the center with a knife. Pull a little of each color into the open space and fold them together with the flat of the blade, pressing and spreading until the streaks disappear. Wipe the knife on a towel before starting the next mix.
- Mist regularly. Hold the spray bottle about 12 inches away and give the paint a light fog every 10 to 15 minutes, or sooner in dry or warm rooms. Aim for a fine sheen, not puddles.
- Tear off and dispose when done. Peel the sheet from a free corner toward the bound edge, then fold it in half with the paint inside and place it in the trash.
Which Side of Palette Paper Do You Use?
Always the coated side. If you are unsure, put a drop of water on a corner of each side. On the coated side the drop beads up and stays round. On the uncoated side it spreads out and darkens the paper as it soaks in.
Some pads print the brand name or a logo on the back or cover, which can also help. If a sheet ever feels absorbent where paint touches it, you have probably flipped it, or the pad is a cheaper type meant mainly for watercolor-style use. Swap to a fresh sheet rather than fighting it.
How to Keep Acrylics From Drying on Palette Paper
Open palette paper exposes paint to air on every side except the bottom. That is why acrylic on paper usually stays workable for a much shorter time than in a sealed or wet palette. Several tactics stretch that working window.
| Tactic | How to do it | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Small portions | Squeeze out only what you need for the next 20 to 30 minutes. | Less waste when paint skins over. |
| Misting | Light fog of water every 10 to 15 minutes. | Replaces evaporating water at the surface. |
| Taller piles | Keep each color as a mound rather than a flat smear. | Less surface area, so the inside stays wet longer. |
| Retarder | Add retarder in small amounts, following the label ratio. | Slows drying in the paint itself. |
| Room conditions | Paint away from fans, heaters and direct sun. | Reduces evaporation from moving or warm air. |
| Cover between sessions | Lay plastic wrap over the paint or slide the pad into a sealed bag. | Holds moisture during short breaks. |
Retarder deserves a note of caution. Most manufacturers suggest keeping it to a modest percentage of the paint volume, often in the range of 10 to 15 percent, because too much can leave the paint tacky or weak. Check the instructions on the bottle you buy rather than guessing.
Laying Out Colors on Acrylic Palette Paper
A consistent layout saves time and keeps mixes clean. Here are three that suit paper pads well.
Edge layout
Colors run around the outer border with about 1 inch between piles. The center stays free for mixing. This suits a standard 9 x 12 inch sheet and limited palettes of 6 to 8 colors.
Warm and cool split
Warm colors line the top edge and cool colors the bottom edge, with white placed in a corner where it is easy to reach from both sides. It helps when you mix a lot of grays and neutrals by crossing warm and cool colors.
Value strip
Before painting, premix a short row of values for your key color, such as five steps from dark to light, along one side. This works especially well on gray paper and speeds up blocking-in for portraits and landscapes.
Whatever layout you choose, leave white with the most space around it. White gets used in many mixes, and it picks up contamination faster than any other color.
White vs Gray Palette Paper for Acrylics
The color of the sheet affects how you read your mixes. On white paper, every mix looks darker than it will on a mid-toned or toned canvas, because the bright surround shifts your perception. Thin, transparent colors also look different on white than they do over an underpainting.
Gray palette paper sits closer to the middle of the value range. Many painters find it easier to judge whether a mix is lighter or darker than intended, which is why gray pads are popular with portrait and plein air painters. White is still a reasonable choice for painting on a white ground or for bright, high-key work.
| Sheet color | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| White | Bright colors, painting on a white ground, glazing tests | Mixes can appear darker than they will on a toned canvas |
| Gray | Value-based work, portraits, painting on a toned ground | Very pale tints are harder to see against it |
How to Tear Off Palette Paper Cleanly
Tearing seems obvious, but a rushed pull can rip the sheet, smear wet paint over your hands or lift the next sheet partway off the binding.
- Let very wet paint firm up a few minutes if you can, or scrape usable paint onto the next sheet first.
- Hold the pad down with one hand flat near the bound edge.
- Lift the free corner opposite the binding and pull slowly back toward the binding at a low angle.
- Once the sheet is free, fold the painted side inward so wet paint stays contained.
If your pad has binding on all four sides, there is usually a small gap in one edge. Slide a palette knife into that gap and run it around the edges to release the top sheet.
Reusing and Moving Paint Between Sheets
You do not need to waste good mixes when you start a fresh sheet. While paint is still wet, lift each pile with the knife and set it on the clean sheet before tearing off the old one. This takes less than a minute and is a sensible habit with costly pigments.
Acrylic that has already formed a skin is a different story. Under the skin there may still be wet paint, but bits of dried film tend to end up in your brushwork as lumps. Peel the skin away completely before using what is underneath, or leave it.
Dried acrylic paint generally cannot be rewetted into a usable paint. Once the polymer has cured, water will not dissolve it back to a workable state.
Using Palette Paper Inside a Stay-Wet Setup
A frequent question is whether you can put coated palette paper inside a wet palette. In short, standard coated palette paper does not work as the top layer of a stay-wet palette, because water cannot pass through the coating to reach the paint.
Stay-wet palettes rely on a porous top layer, typically a special membrane paper or baking parchment, that sits over a damp sponge or paper towel. Moisture wicks up through that layer and keeps the paint soft. If you want that kind of extended working time, the stay-wet palettes reviewed in our professional palette guide are built around this design.
You can still combine the two approaches. Some painters keep a stay-wet palette for their main colors and a palette paper pad beside it for big, quick mixes such as a background color that will be used up in one go.
Common Mistakes With Acrylic Palette Paper
- Painting on the uncoated side. Paint soaks in and dries almost immediately. Check with a water drop.
- Squeezing out too much paint. Acrylics dry far faster than oils on open paper. Start small.
- Mixing with the brush only. Brush mixing drags paint up into the ferrule, where it dries and splays the bristles.
- Over-misting. Pools of water thin the paint unevenly and can make it run into neighboring colors.
- Tearing off with wet paint face out. Fold inward before carrying it to the trash.
- Washing the sheet in a sink. Rinsing acrylic down drains sends plastic solids into plumbing. Let leftovers dry on the sheet and throw it away.
Troubleshooting Palette Paper Problems
The sheet curls up at the edges
Heavy misting or very wet mixes can make the paper cockle. Keep the sheet attached to the pad, tape the free corners down with masking tape, or use clips. A bit less water usually prevents it.
Paint beads up or separates
Very fluid or heavily diluted acrylic can bead on the slick coating. Mix with a little less water, or add a small amount of medium instead of extra water so the paint stays cohesive.
Paint is drying in under 10 minutes
Look for moving air from a fan, vent or open window, and move the pad away from it. Mist more often, reduce pile sizes and consider adding retarder or switching to a slow-drying acrylic formulation.
Colors look different on the canvas
That is usually the sheet color affecting perception. Swatch a mix directly on a scrap of your painting surface, or switch to gray paper if you work on a toned ground.
Tips by Skill Level
For beginners
Work with a limited palette of five or six colors so the sheet does not get crowded. Write your layout on a sticky note on the pad cover so you place colors the same way each time.
For intermediate painters
Premix key colors and values before starting, then use the open center for adjustments. This keeps color consistent across large areas and speeds up each session.
For advanced painters
Use palette paper alongside a stay-wet or airtight palette rather than instead of one. Keep slow, precious mixes in the sealed palette and use paper for quick, disposable mixing and color testing.
Is Palette Paper Right for Acrylics?
Palette paper is a fine match for short sessions, classes, travel and anyone who dislikes cleanup. It is less suited to long, slow paintings where you want the same mixed colors available for hours or days, because the open surface lets acrylics dry quickly.
| Situation | Palette paper | Better alternative |
|---|---|---|
| One- to two-hour session | Works well | Not needed |
| Painting classes and workshops | Works well, quick cleanup | Not needed |
| Multi-day projects with saved mixes | Paint dries between sessions | Airtight or stay-wet palette |
| Very dry or hot climate | Struggles even with misting | Stay-wet palette |
| Painting outdoors | Lightweight and portable, but dries fast in wind | Sealed travel palette |
FAQs
Can you use acrylic paint on palette paper?
Yes. Palette paper is commonly used with acrylics, oils and gouache. The coating keeps acrylic on the surface so it can be mixed with a knife or brush, though it will dry faster than in a sealed or wet palette.
How do you keep acrylic paint wet on palette paper?
Put out small amounts, keep piles mounded, mist with water every 10 to 15 minutes and work away from fans or heaters. Adding a little retarder or using slow-drying acrylics extends working time further.
Which side of palette paper do you use?
Use the coated side, which is smooth and slightly shiny. A drop of water will bead up on the coated side and soak into the uncoated side.
Can you reuse palette paper?
Sheets are made to be used once. You can keep using a sheet as long as paint remains workable, and you can move wet paint onto a new sheet, but dried acrylic does not rewet into usable paint.
Can palette paper be used in a wet palette?
Standard coated palette paper is not suitable as the top layer of a wet palette because water cannot pass through the coating. Stay-wet palettes use porous membrane paper or parchment instead.
How do you dispose of acrylic palette paper?
Fold the used sheet with the paint inside and put it in the household trash. Allow leftover acrylic to dry rather than rinsing it into a sink.
Next Step
Palette paper is a quick, clean way to mix acrylics as long as you work in small amounts, keep the paint misted and use the coated side. For longer sessions or slow, layered paintings, a sealed or wet palette will save more paint and frustration. To compare those options side by side, see our roundup of the best acrylic paint palettes for professionals, which covers airtight and stay-wet designs for different working styles.
