MEEDEN Keramische dubbele paletbeker, porseleinen kunstenaar verfpalet met deksel, luxe olieverfspuiten dippercontainer met beukenbak, kunst keramisch palet houden oplosmiddelen en oliën tijdens het schilderen van kunstenaar

I don’t paint in oils, I primarily use watercolours, sometimes ink, and occasionally gouache. I bought this set with a view to using them for water when working at a small scale or for holding larger quantities of mixed watercolour washes or ink, so I can’t comment on their advertised function. But the set certainly looks like it will work well for my purpose, and I really like the simple wooden frame designed to hold the two pots together and keep the lids out of the way when in use.Others have commented on the possibility of using the insides of the lids as mixing surfaces (watercolour/gouache). It’s true that the tops of the lids are slightly curved, so they’ll slide and rock when placed upside down on a hard surface, but you can get around this problem by resting them on a small folded towel or a piece of gripper mat, which is enough to hold them stable.

These two ceramic containers with lids and wooden serving tray add a very elegant touch to my oil painting tools. In the past, I’ve used old containers or old mugs that nobody ever uses any more to place some of the solvents needed for oil painting. But the truth be told, there can be hazards with that system. If for no other reason, perhaps ‘Murphy’s Law’ would rear it’s tiresome head in the form of a family member suddenly being seized by a mysterious desire to make coffee in a mug that I’ve used and hidden in the laundry room for just such a purpose. Think it can’t happen? Well, it did! But fortunately I was able to stop the situation and tell the family member what it had been repurposed for and hidden in the laundry room before it was actually used. These beautiful ceramic containers have no such object magic, except for the artist. Not only that, ceramic containers such as these have the rep of staying nice and clean looking and stubbornly resist staining. Plus, Meeden is a fairly well known name in art supplies, I own a few things that they made. I know them to offer things that I want or need at reasonable prices. I think these ceramic containers would make a nice gift for an artist. It’s the kind of thing that I wouldn’t think to buy myself, but would quickly grow to enjoy if it was received as a gift. Although they are advertised for the use of oil painters, I think the water colorist or calligrapher could find them even more useful. When I paint with watercolors, I always use two bowls of water: one to help clean dirty brushes, and the other is for clean water to apply on the paper or to blend colors on my palette. The containers could also hold inks for calligraphy and illustration, or for use with wood block or linocut pigments. They are the classic art studio staple that you never knew you needed. **EDIT** Just wanted to add that Meeden should consider making a larger set for people who create Moku Hanga prints, Nihonga style painting, or even for western style watercolorists who need larger amounts of prepared hues for very large watercolor paintings. As of now, I use white ceramic soy sauce dipping dishes for those purposes; but the pretty wooden tray and ceramic lids would be nice extras, too. As of now, however, with just the two, I’m using mine exclusively for oil painting and colored pencil painting solvents.