Painter's Tales
Ever since the first day I started decorative painting,
I have used the Masterson Sta-Wet Palette. This
fabulous stay-wet palette is designed to keep your acrylic
paints from drying out while in use or storage. It uses a unique
permeable paper over a cellulose sponge and provides your paints
with a constant source of
moisture.
Paints are easier to work with because
they stay
moist for hours, even in the open air. When I'm finished or I need
to stop painting for a while, I snap the lid on and the paint
stays fresh for hours, days, even weeks! No wasted paint! When its
humid
or
when
I'm
travelling,
I keep it in the fridge and believe me the paint is fine when I get
back.  
I use the Premier Palette for painting in my studio because
of its large size. The smaller Handy Palette is great for classes
and seminars.
Each set comes with 5 sheets of the permeable paper (use it over
and over again and 5 sheets can last you months, refills available
when you've used them all up), a cellulose sponge, the palette
tray and lid plus instructions for
preparation
and use. The palette works with any
paints but my favourite paints are Jo Sonja' Artist Paints.
If
you read my Basecoating
Guide you will find that I advise using the wet palette for
basecoating as it prevents the paints from drying. I also enjoy
using Jo
Sonja's Background colours for basecoating because they
give good coverage and come in a wide selection of colours.  
Have you also read my Varnishing
Guide?
I use mainly Jo Sonja's Water-based Varnishes because they give me really good
results. And I use my wet palette to varnish also...I can stop anytime or take
a break between coats without the varnish drying out on me.
What about brushes? (Read All
About Brushes to get an overview.) I use all kinds of
brushes but my personal favourite has to be the Robert Simmons
series. The "Sienna" range is particularly affordable and
are extremely poplular and perfect
for
decorative
painting
with acrylics. They are
short-handled, with a high
quality, state-of-the-art blend of synthetic filaments for
hairs. The result
is a smooth, soft feel and brush tips that return to a sharp
point or edge every time. The ferrules are precision-engineered,
plus they are 22K gold-plated to add a final touch of
luxury. |
