This painting came to life when I decided to use up the leftover paint on my palette, colors leftover from the previous painting. I began to scrape off the sky color…and my hand slipped! The palette knife left behind the white highlights and I immediately saw a huge wave emerging from the ocean. The leftover paint colors did their magic. I affectionately call it my first Leftover Painting.
What do we do with all that leftover paint? It’s not really suitable for letting the grandchildren play with. When I am too tired to clean my brushes I often put them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator overnight. But in a place where you can see the bag or they will remain in there for weeks! But where does the paint go?
Save plastic lids from the kitchen and scrape the leftover paint into them. My favorite lid is from a gelato company because it gives me an excuse to eat the gelato. Make a cover for it with a foil tent and put it in the refrigerator. A word of caution…if you have teenage boys be sure to label with the words “oil paint” or else the boys will be into it for certain.
If you use paper palettes it's easy to tear off that piece of palette paper and put the whole paper in the refrigerator. Place it on something inflexible. Or put the whole palette pad itself into the frig. The paint will stay moist for a day or two. My painting friend, Isabel, takes her paint home after a session. She tapes the piece of paint-covered palette paper onto a flat piece of cardboard to make it easy to carry in the trunk of her car. All her mixed colors are available to continue to work on her in-progress painting.
Recently I have been making what I call Leftover Paintings. I take the extra paint on my palette and re-use it on a small canvas. I come up with a landscape idea that can include the variety of colors I have leftover on my palette. Some of them are outlandish. Some are fantasy colors. All of them are fun to do. It forces you to use the colors you have, and you could end up with a magenta pond and a yellow sky. Good messy fun!
One other paint tip. Every time I go to an art supply store I treat myself to one new color…one that I have never bought before. One that intrigues me. Sometimes I get a tube that is an awful color once I open it. But many times I have found a wonderful new friend.