New York Central Grey Tempered Glass Palette 10x14" Oval – Scratch-Resistant, Easy-to-Clean Artist Palette for Precise Color Mixing, Reduced Glare, Solvent-Resistant

These are very substantial additions to the oil painting artist studio. I have a few tempered glass palettes: two in this color, both by NYC.I like New York Central art supplies. I think that they are exclusive brands of Jerry’s Artarama, so they are backed by a very established, huge retail art supply.In the excellent book by Todd Casey, “The Oil Painters Color Handbook”, which could be described as a sort of Bible of oil painting, these are EXACTLY the types of palettes that are preferred and recommended by many contemporary pro master oil painters. The medium gray offers the artist a kind of mid tonal compass to better navigate his or her values. As you become more and more experienced in oil painting, it begins to dawn on you that contrasting values help you with the elements of design, composition, adding mood and atmosphere, and so on. Highly recommended. For adults. Tempered glass or no, this is still glass, and probably not wise to give to an unsupervised kid or other people who do not have the capacity to judge safety issues. I remember seeing a Pyrex measuring cup explode one after boiling water was added, severely injuring my cat who was rubbing against my husbands legs as he poured his tea ( the cat survived, and lived many more happy years). Pyrex isn’t supposed to do that, but it did.I will never forget that, or ever fully trust anybody’s claims. It doesn’t take much to err on the side of caution with such matters.

Review of New York Central Grey Tempered Glass Palette 10x14 Oval – Scratch-Resistant, Easy-to-Clean Artist Palette for Precise Color Mixing, Reduced Glare, Solvent-ResistantThe palette is not reversable in that the back side has the grey surface applied and is not “glass.” So a left handed painter may have difficulty using as designed, but I tired it out and it could still work for someone wanting to hold it with their right hand. The glass surface cleans easily, but still grips the paint well enough to mix on the palette.I tried it with oil paint. My plan was to use it for plein air painting in oils, but There are a couple of problems with that plan. The glass palette so far does not fit in the palette keeper box I have, so I have to get one that’s larger and larger is not good when packing to go in the field. The other problem I have is that it’s heavy. So, using it outdoors, I’d have to have it sit on my easel drawer or struggle to hold it for several hours. So as of now, it is my studio palette.Since I do not plan to hold it because it is heavy, and I rarely hold my palette anyway, the holes don’t make sense for me. I wish I had gotten the rectangular glass palette instead.None of these problems are the fault of the palette. Its edges are smooth, the grey color works well and seems durable. The glass feels strong and scratch resistant. The holes are well placed for those who may plan to hold it.

I had just recently started to collect a few glass palettes to try out, so I cannot say I am an expert in them for my casual painting hobby, but this one is by far better than what I had tried so far. I originally got one that was so heavy, it was difficult to even use it as it was just too much to even move around from one space to another. It was rather thick glass also. This one is thinner but much easier to handle. Although it is thinner, I feel it is durable, other than expected if it were to be dropped on a hard surface. As for it being gray, I have never tried a gray palette of any kind, so that remains to be seen with more use. I also do not hold palettes often or for long as I have arthritis in my hands and elbows and it is painful holding anything up for a good bit of time, so I cannot say how comfortable holding it for a long time would be. I tend to keep palettes on a table by me as much as possible. It is smooth and I would think easy to clean for most types of paint (I have only tried acrylic). As long as I do not run into odd issues later with it, I would recommend it.

This glass palette is extremely well made with perfectly smooth edges and surfaces. The color is a lovely neutral grey that matches the 18% grey cards you’d use in photography so you get a very good idea of the true values of the paints you’re using/mixing. Acrylics peel off easily once dry (or wipe off easily if still wet) and oil paint was easy to scrape off with a razor blade. I suppose you could also use a stiff palette knife if you prefer. The thumb hole is a good size and the palette balances well but it is heavy when used for long sessions. I just set it on a table next to my easel and it works just as well there. It’s tempered so should survive a little trauma but I baby it anyway so I don’t know how well it holds up to dropping but it has taken a couple of bumps without chipping so I’m hopeful it’d survive a drop.

This paint palette is great, it is the perfect shade of grey so you get the true colours when you are mixing. I often use a grey rectangle but when I came across this I had to have it. I love that you can pick it up if needed like a normal art palette if needed. The only downside is that it is a bit heavy so if you have arthritis it can be tiresome to hold. Very easy to clean and well-made. No sharp edges and lays completely flat. I set this on a desk and use it without holding it most of the time but it is nice to have the option. The grey colour sets this apart from other palettes. 5 stars all the way!