How to Prep a New Wooden Palette for Oil Painting

I love painting on wooden palettes! This video shows you how to prepare a new, raw wooden palette for painting.

You can purchase palettes from art suppliers or, better yet, use a piece of plywood. A lot of palettes have a thumb hole, which you really don't need. In fact, the thumb hole just limits the amount of space you have for mixing paint. (Why is the thumb hole even there? Great question - more on that in another post.) Get decent plywood, nothing too rough. I used a piece of half-inch thick plywood here (I accidentally call it quarter inch in the video - oops!) Half-inch is fine for your studio, but if you want to take it anywhere, get the quarter-inch thick kind.  Have the outer dimensions cut to whatever size you want. You can sand it, but you don't have to be too fussy about it. 

You will need linseed oil - I'm using artists grade, but you can use hardware store grade for this instead. You can also use stand oil or boiled linseed oil.

Pour the linseed oil onto the wood, spread it with a palette knife. The wood will absorb the oil so delightfully.  The first time it really drinks it up.  Wipe the excess with a rag. Let this dry for a few days and add more oil, spread it and wipe it down. Each successive layer absorbs less oil. Eventually you could get a glassy shiny finish if you wanted, but you really only need a few coats to get started. The finish will develop and improve over time. 

Once you have added a few layers of linseed oil, you're ready to paint! Remember to always set up your paint on the outer edges of your palette, preferably in a prismatic arrangement, and always put your paint in the same place, every time.  

Use the large central area for mixing. When you're done mixing for the day, scrape off your excess paint with a  palette knife and then wipe the surface with a clean cloth.  Once you have the paint removed, use a few drops of linseed oil to further clean and add to the lovely patina of your palette. Over time your palette becomes a nice middle gray tone. The surface gets glassy and non-porous and is a great surface for mixing colors.  

Happy painting! 

*In this video you will see a palette with the pigments labelled - this is the palette of the artist Lupe Galvan.