Most of my painting is done on a very large easel that I made out of 2×4 and attached to the easel is a pallet .  Some artists prefer to carry the pallet, but I find that it sort of gets in the way over time and actually gets a bit heavy on my arm.

Because of how the easel is constructed, attaching the pallet is simply a process of using a 3 inch C clamp.  I have always struggled with painting pallets which never cleaned up very well.  And I just cannot stand a messy pallet..OK so I am anal about clean pallets.  So be it.  With that aside, I have discovered a Pallet system that is easy to use and cleans up really well.  In the above picture you see a flat board which is actually a thin cutting board made of bamboo that I purchased from Wal Mart.  On top of  the board is a piece of glass, secured to the board with a strip of duct tape (never leave home without it).  Between the board and the glass is a sheet of white paper with colors written on them.  I prefer to have the basic colors always in the same position on the pallet.  The center of the white sheet is used for white paint and mixing.  The above picture was taken just after attaching the new board and glass to the easel (we have recently moved and I had to get all my art stuff up).  What you don’t see in that picture is my painting muse.  Actually it is Daffy Duck, which I keep in view to make sure I do not take myself or my paintings too seriously.

Daffy Attached with some Velcro

Along with my home made pallet I use a simple plastic box purchased from Wal Mart to hold my paint.  Those store bought fancy wooden boxes are totally absurd both in cost and in practicality.  The paint box eventually becomes a sort of abstract work of art from all the paint dragged across it as you work on your masterpiece.  Notice in the picture below that the paint I use is Academy and can be purchased off the net for about half the cost of what you will pay in your local art store.

Plastic Art Box