As easy to use as it is to transport, watercolor is beautiful medium that is well-suited for taking on the road. Covered palettes are essential for watercolor artists on the go, useful for plein air painting and travel journaling. More than just convenient, they also keep paints fresh and leak-free. Peruse our selection of the best covered watercolor palettes to find the right construction, size, and design for your needs.
1. Mijello Airtight Watercolor Palette
Keep your paints super safe with this convenient acrylic plastic case. Mijello’s Airtight Watercolor Palette opens up to reveal two large mixing areas and 18 paint wells to keep your colors separated. It also comes with a removable clear mixing tray that’s great for matching paint colors and is easily cleaned. The leakproof design will keep both your bag and your paints tidy during transport. If transporting very liquid paints, remember that while the case is leakproof, the individual wells are not, so keep it flat, if possible.
2. Meeden Airtight Leakproof Watercolor Palette
Meeden’s watercolor palette is both airtight and leakproof. The lid features a silicone seal to keep the paint pans moist and easy to clean. This palette opens to reveal a tray with 33 slanted wells for paint and a second large tray for mixing. Both are removable for easy cleaning. Made of durable thick plastic, this palette won’t bend or crack. Suitable for all water-based pigment, it’s a great pick for beginners and professionals alike.
3. Color Around Aluminum Watercolor Palette
Color Around’s Aluminum Watercolor Palette puts dozens of colors at your fingertips. With its aluminum construction and 65-well design, this large covered palette is an ideal choice for the professional or intermediate watercolorist. The foldable palette’s wells and two generous trays for washes are made of baked white enamel, an excellent surface for mixing. The super-smooth surface is easy to clean, and the snap closure shuts securely to keep paints safe and drip-free. This palette also comes with a thumb hole, if you’re painting at an easel.
4. Falling in Art Airtight Leak-Proof Watercolor Palette
Falling in Art’s Airtight Leak-Proof Watercolor Palette is a great product for the classroom or for recreational watercolorists. This plastic palette contains 18 wells and two large mixing areas. A rubber seal at the snap closure ensures that paint won’t dry up while the palette is closed. As a bonus, this user-friendly palette includes a cleaning sponge for keeping your pigments and palette fresh.
5. Guerrilla Painter Covered Palette Tray
Whether they’re watercolors or oils, if you work with tube paints, nothing beats a butcher tray for taking them out of doors. While most butcher trays sold in art stores are the same enamel pans found in butcher shops, this high-impact plastic butcher tray has the advantage of a lid. The tight-fitting cover will ensure that oil paints stay usable for days, while the single, large flat surface offers an unrestricted work area for watercolorists who like to play fast and loose. Just squeeze out the colors you want to use, add water, and get to work!