The layout is what makes a palette good, and this one gets the proportions right. Seven small wells run along one edge to hold neat colour, and three wide areas take up the rest of the board for mixing. Most cheap palettes give you a dozen identical wells and nowhere to actually mix, which is the opposite of how painting works — you use a few colours and spend the session blending them.

The thumb hole matters more than it looks. Held on the thumb, the palette travels with your hand while you work at an easel or move around a table, so you are not reaching back to a fixed spot between strokes. Painting gets faster the moment the paint follows the brush.

White plastic is the right surface for judging colour. A mix looks different against wood, metal or a coloured tray, and the whole point of mixing on a palette is to see what the colour will do before it reaches the paper.

It is the large size in the Omega range, which suits acrylic and poster paint where you need room to work and a generous amount of each colour. For a few drops of watercolour a smaller palette is easier to hold.

Plastic cleans up in a way wood never does. Acrylic dried on the surface peels off in a sheet once it has cured, and watercolour rinses away entirely — which is why one of these outlives several disposable trays.

The price is Rs. 195 with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Stock, city and delivery charges are confirmed on WhatsApp before dispatch.

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