Below is some information I have shared on instagram or in my classroom over the years:
This is my large gouache/watercolor palette. Over the years I have moved away from watercolor as I greatly prefer the opacity of gouache. For me, gouache has become the perfect medium. It can be applied opaque, thinned for washes, mixed with watercolor to increase opacity. You can paint on paper, board, canvas or any material at all. You can leave it, varnish it, seal it, paint over it. It also dries flat so reproductions come out looking truer to the original. You can use it fresh out of the tube or you can rewet it in a pan. (Note- not all gouache manufactures make easily rewet-able paint. I think M. Graham and Schmincke are the best for rewetting.)
These days I mostly use the watercolors on the above two rows for accent colors. (Update- I took out duplicate colors to the gouache and added more interesting novelty colors instead) The last pan on the second row on the right is actually brush soap, its always important to keep your brushes clean!
This is my small travel gouache palette. I drop out English Red from the larger palette and use the white squeezed right out of a tube. I bought this particular box as it also holds the water in the flask portion. I remember visiting the Vatican and filling the flask with Holy Water to try to give the next painting a bit of divine inspiration. Sadly I didn’t notice a difference in the final work. I also jest at times that my painting flask is filled with the tears of my students. That is not true, it’s filled with my own tears.This is my oil palette. I should point out that I don’t use traditional oils, I prefer water mixable oil colors. Although I would describe them as a bit more “slippery” when it comes to adhering to the painted surface, the benefit of avoiding turpentine or mineral spirts greatly outweighs the slippery feel for me.
I probably do not need every color I have on my palette but I do find them all convenient. I also like to use a fast dry medium to speed up drying time.
This is a photo of my plein air setup for a summer of painting in England. This particular year I went for gouache painting instead of oil painting. I like to use a variety of papers; I have packed both hot press and cold press watercolor blocks and a few different sized watercolor sketchbooks. I always bring bunch of different drawing tools, travel brushes, a flask for water, a water sprayer, paper towels and of course, sun screen. All this goes into a large waterproof backpack meant to keep everything safe. I am happy enough to sit on the ground and hold the paper on my knees while I paint.
The bottle of dark liquid on the top is home made brandy. It’s not something I usually pack for painting but maybe I should.
Empty Palette 