Hey friends!

I get a lot of questions on some of the beautiful ceramic pieces I am often using in class... so, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite ceramic palettes I use when painting… and where I got them. I love using ceramic pieces for palettes for painting over disposable palettes because they are sustainable… reusable… beautiful… photogenic… etc…

I’m going to show you some budget-friendly choices and some artisan pieces I’ve collected.

If I’m doing watercolor – I will often leave the watercolor on the palette to dry and reuse later. Adding colors and never cleaning it off. If I am doing some acrylic painting – then I will clean the palette off after each use. The easiest way to do that is to let the palette soak in some water for a bit and the dried paint will just sluff off with a paint scraper. You can throw the dried paint away in the trashcan. I try to never wash paint down the sink drain since a lot of paints are toxic and you don’t want to add those toxins to the water supply. Since I paint in several different mediums – I like to have several palettes handy for the different uses.

As you can see, I basically collect the palettes now – LOL! If you’ll scroll down to the bottom… you can check out what I do with the palettes when I’m not using them. Why leave them in a drawer? I think they are beautifully mixed in with the gallery wall I created in my art studio. Now they are on display, interesting to look at, and ready to be used if I want to take one down for a project.

If you love these or have a source for beautiful palettes I haven’t listed or found… be sure to leave me a comment and let me know! I’m always interested in adding to my collection!

The most budget-friendly option I have used and enjoy is serving dishes. I got this beautiful modern square plate from the Cost Plus World Market store. It ran about $5 for one plate in the store. Looks like they sell them in sets of 4 online. Still totally worth it if you order them – as the price is still good compared to the other options I have. And I could always use more palettes – LOL!

Another budget-friendly option that goes along with this – is antique serving dishes. You can get beautiful antique ceramic pieces for really cheap if you keep your eyes open at the market. I like them to be mostly flat, rectangular in shape is my personal preference – but any plate will do really… and I like them to be white with no pattern. I think it is easier to use if there is nothing else on the plate to distract me.

A third option I love – is TjMaxx… one of my favorite stores! I have come across several serving plates that have been perfect from here that I use and they were all under $10.

Sylvan Clayworks – this is one of the first ceramic palettes I acquired from an artist. I saw people using them and posting the prettiest photos with their artwork on Instagram. I will freely admit… I had palette envy! Part of sharing on social media for me is having a beautiful photo to represent when you are sharing. The ceramic palette instantly elevates any art photos over using disposable paper for your palette.

This artist is extremely popular and has shop releases every month where she stocks up items that typically sell out fast. If you are interested in getting one of her beautiful palettes – then I’d join the email list as they get first dibs.

Sugarhouse Ceramics Co – this is another artisan palette I found while drooling over photos on Instagram. I have a few of these and they are another company that does their releases and sells out pretty fast. I would hop on the email list for these guys to know when they are adding new inventory.

Southern Grit Studio – O.M.G! Look at how gorgeous this palette is. I swoon every time I use it in a photo. This lady makes the most beautiful palettes I’ve seen. They are pretty and have hand-applied gold edging that I love. She does stock updates like the other guys in small batches and posts them on Etsy. I’d hop on the email list to see when she is adding more inventory.

Her Name Is Mud – Look at how amazing these pieces are. This collection is truly beautiful and totally unique. Krista Coons creates this collection she calls the O’Keeffe collection. It includes interesting palettes and brushes to paint with. I only have these 2 pieces from her collection – but cannot wait till the next update to maybe add another piece to my collection!

I also love to collect ceramic palettes that have lots of little spots for my watercolors. I use watercolor in the tubes and hand make a lot of my colors – so I need somewhere to house them, and these are perfect for that. I have several of these in various sizes and they are fairly easy to find online from places like Amazon and online art shops.

Til next time... I'm wishing you all a very creative week!

xoxo Denise

PS: I'm pretty excited about some of the planned classes I have this year for Skillshare! If you haven't checked it out lately... You might enjoy my newest class... Creative Collage!