Mijello Airtight Watercolor 18-Well Pink Palette

I bought this because I wanted a palette with full pans since full pans are nicer on my brushes. But I have a small work area, and I wanted something that wouldn't hog all the space on my work area. It fits surprisingly well in my tiny desk area (about 1/2 the area of a standard computer desk). I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to rough up the palette a bit and then washed it thoroughly to make sure I wasn't leaving any cleaning chemicals behind. That worked like a charm and the water didn't bead up like it usually does on a plastic palette. I love the ample mixing area. It's really nice not to have to pull out an extra mixing palette to get painting. It's a great compromise between buying 12 pan palettes and the big monster palettes that hold 30 or more colors. I also love that I can pull watercolor paint off one end of the well without dirtying the whole area the way you inevitably do with pans. I waste less paint in those times when I need to clean the area to get at pure color. I used the removable mixing area to add dabs of a couple more colors I really wanted in my palette. I made a swatch card to put under the removable mixing area, secured it with double sided tape, and then used more double sided tape to secure the removable mixing area to my swatch card. That way, I get a nice record of the colors I'm using and the removable mixing area with my extra dabs of paint doesn't accidentally go flying. To keep the top from dripping into my main palette, I just mop up any water around my extra dabs of paint before closing it (though usually, the water dries fast enough I don't even have to worry about it). I really wanted a palette with just a couple more paint wells and I was happy I could find a way to squeeze those paints in without having to buy a giant palette. I can't attest to whether or not this is really waterproof, but if I put a folded up wet paper towel inside the palette, my paints stay moist for quite a while. I think it would work well as a travel palette. It seems sturdy. I'll probably add a rubber band around the outside to make extra sure nothing banging around in my tote bag pries open the clasp. All-in-all, I'm really happy I bought this palette and I look forward to taking it outside now that spring is here.

I purchased this watercolor palette as an upgrade to one similar to this: Reeves Folding Plastic Palette, Small . I am glad I did! Here are some things I like about this palette: The slanted wells - I squeeze out my paint into these. For watercolor paint, they are relatively large and can hold a lot of paint. Having 18 wells provides ample space for me to have a variety of colors on my palette. The slant makes it easier to use a brush to pick up paint directly from the well with varying amounts of water. I placed my paint at the bottom, although recently I have begun placing my paint at the top of the slant so that the majority of paint is not sitting at the bottom in a puddle. The airtight seal - Soon after purchasing this, I traveled and wanted to bring my watercolors with me. Since I could not bring all the tubes, I squeezed out the colors onto this palette in advance. I put the palette in a ziploc bag just incase there was any leaks and I am happy to say that there wasn't! However, I did find that some of my colors in separate wells had unfortunately spread into each other and around the inner edges of the palette. I left the palette open for 2 days after putting my paint in it as I thought this would be enough time for the paint to dry. Many of my watercolor paints are m. graham & co. which does not harden as much as other paints like winsor and newton, so that could have contributed to the problem. Nonetheless, I expected this situation and this is just a word of caution to try to keep your palette horizontal since the airtight seal helps keep your paint from drying. I spray my palette with water when I need to use it for painting and the airtight seal does a great job at retaining some of that moisture - the paint that I sprayed 3+ days ago is still sticky. There is plenty of space for mixing, including a removable clear plastic tray and the space below that. For some reason, I really haven't taken advantage of these spaces as I do most of my mixing in the trays closer to the wells, but I am sure I will use the extra space eventually. I think I would love this palette even more if the lid portion had separated areas like the bottom does to help mixtures from spreading into each other. Overall, I am very happy with this palette and I do not think I will be using anything else for many years.

(this review is with gouache paint) *To get it out of the way, the fushia color is NOT the purple palette shown in product image. Although the actual color is accurate to its name, the image was misleading. Overall It's lightweight, feels durable and has a lot of mixing space. Palette is slim and easy to balance on the hand as well, although I usually leave it on the desk. Airtightness / Leakproofness I have not tested this, as I'm using the medium dried & I generally would not close the palette anyway if there were significant wet puddles in it still. Tray The extra tray is very nice & easy to clean. It's a little difficult to take out at first, especially if your finger is even slightly oily. Not a major con- I would prefer this over a loose tray. Lid The lid closure closes neatly, but I found mind is a bit on the weaker side. If it got snagged by something in the bag, I can see it accidentally opening. Staining Staining has been minimum on all the surfaces so far and I rarely clean off my palette. It's a bit of yellows, purples/blues and reds that are left behind. Beading A lot of beading at first, but gradually improves into minimal to no beading. This is with gouache though; I have not tested with watercolors. Paint Wells Not a fan of the corner wells, the shape is a bit awkward to use for me. Otherwise, each holds a decent amount of paint, and 18 is a perfect number of wells. Enough for the core colors and a few extras for misc/pre-mixed colors. Space for Utensils (attached in one of the photos) There's space to fit in short-handled brushes and pencils- and the lid closes just fine. They will rattle inside, but a good option to have if I'm too lazy to carry a separate pencil case.

Good product overall… nice big wells and plenty of room to add more full or half pans in the bottom mixing area if wanted with magnetic tape or whatever. I was hoping to also add some half pans to the top lid area but it’s not deep enough, even if you take out the clear mixing tray (pic is what I intended, not what is possible, along with some additional Winsor Newton individual colors I wanted to add). Not a design flaw since it wasn’t made for that originally. Had to take a star off for color not being purple as advertised — it’s a fairly bright medium fuchsia pink, which is a lot more loud and tacky in person, especially since it’s plastic. Seller should really update the product images. Might not matter to some people but color and tactile feeling stand out to me… this case is lightweight but doesn’t feel like very high quality compared to other cases I’ve used. Wish they sold this in more muted or pastel colors. It’s a fairly large size too, especially when unfolded, which I knew by the measurements before purchasing, but I found it to be a bit too big to fit on my lap desk. Didn’t have a chance to test the waterproof claim. I decided to just stick with the nice white palette case that came with my Sennelier La Petite set of 24 watercolors… a bit more compact but much better tactile feel/visual quality and it has room in the top to add some pans, while also fitting 12 half pans into the area originally for paint brushes.

I just received this a few days ago. I love it so far. It seems sturdy and has bright white mixing areas for my watercolors, which is a must. The latch isn't as firm as I would hope but it's not a huge deal to me. As far as airtight, I doubt it will keep water from spilling out but I haven't tested for this since I didn't purchase the palette for this reason. I just like the way it's set up. I use tube water paint but I like it to dry in the palette. I placed about 3ml in each of the wells 2 days ago and they are still moist. They are slowly drying so over time they will dry out. If you paint everyday the paint will stay moist longer since you will be adding water every time you paint. The wells have a generous size and I love that they are at a slant. I think this will be much easier on the tips of my delicate brushes. Don't overfill the wells or the paint will stick to the lid. I read this in another review so I was able to avoid having it happen to me. Don't expect the palette to be purple as in the picture it's more of a reddish pink or Fuchsia as the description says. I gave 5 stars because for me I think this will work perfect and I love how it's set up. Update Feb 9, 2019: I used this palette yesterday while painting valentine cards. I still like this palette however the fact that the paint beads up when mixing is an issue. This makes it very difficult to determine the strength of the color when creating small washes. It is partially filled with my paint or I would probably return it. The picture I included is after the paint has dried but you can still see how it was before it dried. I have removed one star for this issue. Update Feb 24, 2019: I gave back the star I took away. After doing a lot of research to see if there was a remedy to the issue of the paint beading up in the mixing areas I have found that all plastic and metal palettes do this. I tried several things from YT videos and none really worked. I decided to try a household magic erasure. You know the ones for cleaning spots off walls and such. Anyways, I gave the mixing areas a good scrubbing with it and voila it worked great. The paint no longer beads up. I'll try to get a picture posted soon. As for staining? That's going to happen no matter what. Some colors stain and that's all there is to it. The magic eraser also works quite well to remove the stains to get you back to white.

I am an mixed media artist and am just starting to get my feet wet in watercolor and gouache, which are not cheap mediums at all! So I had been looking for a way to use and save my paints when I am done, until I am ready for another go. I was so happy to find this hidden jewel from Mijello, and after using it, I am so happy I got it! I love the fact I can close the lid and the paints that are watered down don't leak out. Also I can take the clear tray out to use and wash for future sessions. In fact the entire pallet is washable! I know a concern I had was if the water color's would bubble up since it's not metal or ceramic, and I am happy to report they do not! The size is perfect, it is big enough to use at home and small enough to toss in a bag to paint in the field. All in all I am very pleased and will more likely order another one to have for just at home!

I have now purchased three of these over the past year and a half or so. The first one I got had student-grade paints and I gave it to a friend when I upgraded to artist-grade paints. The second one I have been using for well over a year. The third one I bought most recently was to make a second working palette with different colors from my other one, but I'll still be using them both regularly. When researching for my third palette, I desperately wanted a travel palette with removable pans so that making a whole new palette wasn't necessary and I could just switch out the pans whenever I switched colors. However, the very cheapest I could do this was around $70. Price is a factor for be so I settled back on the palette that has treated me incredibly well. To answer some reviews about it not being air-tight because paints eventually dry out, watercolors can mold anyway if they are left wet for more than a week, so everything I have read and learned from other watercolorists recommend that if you're not going to paint right from the tube, let your watercolors dry before close the palette anyway. If your paints are too hard to rewet, try a different brand such as Daniel Smith, Mission Gold, or M. Graham. There are zero problems rewetting most of these paints. I have found - for me - that mine are at least water-tight and I can travel with these palettes to in from classes or meetups with ease without my paints spilling or leaking Pros: - Slanted wells are fantastic and easy on your brushes. - Large mixing areas, including a removable clear tray. The area underneath can be used for additional mixing OR to keep a palette swatch of all your paints. - Seals with a rubber seal so that travel is easy and leakproof. - Sturdy construction feels comfortably weighted/substantial without being heavy. - The price is literally unbeatable for what you get. All other plastic palettes that I've used feel too lightweight and/or have harsh corners that are hard on brushes. Cons: - Palette does discolor with staining pigments, but this is true of ALL plastic palettes. If you want a non-staining palette, invest in a porcelain palette. - No option for removable pans, but the slanted wells make up for this. - No finger loop if you like to work that way when outside. I think that's it - well worth the price when compared to other plastic palettes.

Gonna start off by saying that I already have the 33-well pallet. So I knew the quality of the item I was getting. These are my favorite pallets. They're sturdy, keep my paints moist for a longer period of time and the well size is very generous, about 5ml. I love that they're rounded and that there's an open end to each well so that you can use your brush on the end of it to dab off extra color. It also helps to preserve your brush since your not digging into corners to get the last of your color. There's ample mixing room and you could use the lid after removing the clear insert, or use the insert and the lid. I love how the insert fits snugly in the lid and I can remove it when I want. On the 33-well pallet, the insert is loose and just falls out, kinda annoying. They can stain with certain pigments. It doesn't bother me too much but I've heard that it can be cleaned with a magic eraser, but I've yet to try that myself. I found out last night just how sturdy these are. My cat loves to knock things off the counter. This pallet was last night's victim. I found it on the floor split with the lid separated. I was worried that it wouldn't go back together. Well it did, and relatively easy too! And it didn't even spill any of the paints, no cracks or chips. Added some pics. The color is more pink than purple/magenta that's in the description/picture. You can see where the clear insert comes out. I chose to put the color swatch underneath instead of using that space for mixing. Right now this pallet is used for my own color mixes. I'd highly recommend these to anyone. I'm actually going to order another one for some new mixes.