When I paint, I like to use a small canvas board as my palette. It gives me a place to test color mixes, experiment, and just play around in a creative sandbox.
I’ve always felt a little bad when I see artists with perfectly clean palettes. To me, that’s where some of the real art happens. Every swipe, every color test, every accidental blend tells the story of the painting before the painting itself is finished.
After I’ve built up a stack of these canvas board palettes, I don’t throw them away. Instead, I use pareidolia to discover images hidden within the layers of paint. Those abstract shapes become the starting point for smaller paintings, almost like uncovering something that was already there waiting to be found.
Paint has become expensive, and I don’t like wasting it. Repurposing my palettes lets me squeeze every bit of creativity out of the materials while giving each one a second life. What started as a place to experiment often becomes a finished piece of art in its own right.
