Keeping oil paint usable for the Pochade Box.

This is an update on the Pochade Box I made last year and how I keep paint on the palette.




The box after six months use

So far I haven’t found any reason to make modifications to the box apart from drilling four small holes, one in each corner to let the rain out!

One thing I have made is a second palette. I can now have two palettes set with paint.

Usually one for landscapes and one for portraits I like to experiment with different colour palettes. I designed the box with a slide out palette, so as soon as I finish painting for the day I put the palette in the freezer.
That way the paint stays usable for days, and with some pigments for weeks. Oil paint dries by a chemical reaction, the oil oxidizes, that is it reacts with oxygen in the air which causes it to polymerise. This reaction can be slowed down by cooling the paint.

I’ve made a wooden block with two groves in it to keep the two palettes separated.



First palette set in the block



The two palettes showing the separation

They then get put into a plastic bag before going in the freezer.

Ready for the freezer

Getting ready for spring.