From time to time I clean off the palette which is usually a right mess after doing location painting around Montreal. If I am feeling lazy I will run the palette quickly under the tap with some gentle brushing with the hogs-hair 2 inch round brush, but then a little bit of the paint goes down the sink. The way that I use watercolours is to squeeze them onto the palette and let them dry firmly before use. They can stay that way almost indefinitely without any issues. It is quite different than oil or acrylic paints which are not usable after they dry. Gum arabic, or a synthetic equivalent, is a water soluble adhesive substance used in watercolour paint to keep them soluble, this gives the paint its unique characteristic. Pigments are largely the same between the various paint medias, its just the formula that differs.
Design in Danger, watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, March 2024
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