Instead of the finished work of art, I'm often more interested in the palette the artist created when painting it.
I've always had a thing for artists palettes, including the shape with the little thumb hole in it. On a recent trip to New York, I stopped into Partners & Spade and saw that they had a sweet collection of amazingly glopped-on, paint-spattered antique artist palettes for sale. As with most of the humorous and completely random collections at Partners & Spade, they are one-of-a-kind and prices vary.
The thing I like best about artist palettes is that they're not planned and they aren't even intended to be works of art — but they give a glimpse into the artists process when they painted whatever they painted. And they show that the process can be just as beautiful (if not more) than the end result!
See more at Partners & Spade | Artist Palettes — the palettes I saw in the store were unframed, although it looks like they are selling them framed with custom mattes in antique gold frames.
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Making a big old mess of colors is exactly what a painter does not want to do on a palette. Letting them dry that way makes it hard to mix new colors over them and is a waste of pricey paint.
Unless these came from some very sloppy artists, I doubt that these were actually ever used as palettes (or rather, they were, but they did not look this way when in use). They have an unauthentically fussy, Hobby Lobby thing going on for me.
Kitschy...
yuck.
I've painted for 20 years, and have never once used one of those palettes. Though I have been tempted to stretch and frame my painting clothes before...!
well, i lived with a painter for 15 years, and though he never used those palettes, the things he used instead (preferably tins for 35mm movie film) were full of paint splotches and did indeed look interesting … i took many photographs of them as they really were like abstracts.
painters, like other people, come in all kinds. ;-)
i never would put a palette into a gold frame, but then i wouldn't put anything in a gold frame. i've had photos of those used palettes on the wall, and people thought they were paintings :-D
I wonder if I can sell mine? I have painted for more than 30 years and I have had several that ended up looking like this.
I opt for the more easy to use pallette paper now, but I have never got rid of my palletes and they do indeed look like abstract art. :)
I have had people buy my drop cloths from my live painting sessions.
More than buy the art!
Since I use paper plates, my palettes are less than fabulous, to me.
i love my pallettes too!
No thank you. I'll pass.
remember the first episode of work of art? yeah, still doesn't work.
I actually wrote a blog about this type of "accidental abstract art"....
http://www.myaliya.com/2010/05/personal-reflection-no-absolutes-in-the-abstract/