Abstract:
A painter&#39;s palette is disclosed having a mixing area large enough to support the artist&#39;s color mixing needs with recessed paint troughs formed or attached to either side of the mixing area to store the various daubs of artist paint, separate the daubs from the main mixing surface, facilitate clean up of the mixing area, minimize the surface area of paint exposed to air, protect the user&#39;s sleeves and hands from paint daub contact, add structural integrity to the palette and support the palette at a reasonable distance above a flat surface to facilitate handling of the palette. Trough end caps or closed trough ends facilitate submerging paint daubs in the troughs in water. A centralized opening for the thumb or finger makes left and right hand use possible. The palette preferably has a medium color value or is white to allow the user to judge and facilitate the mixing of paint colors. The palette preferably includes a grayscale value segment and a color wheel reference guide to help the artist ascertain and determine color relationships. The palette is also preferably part of a system including a storage and transportation case that also allows the case, including the palette, to be stored in a refrigerator or freezer.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to painter&#39;s palettes of the type held in the artist&#39;s hand and resting on the artist&#39;s arm. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Most hobby artists start their exploration of the arts by purchasing art materials that are readily available in retail stores. Many of these products are not sophisticated, and they are intended to be sold to the uneducated or neophyte consumer and are not fully functional to support a maturing artist. As Artists use these products, they may or may not realize the non-functionality of these products, and usually continue buying additional materials in an unfortunate attempt to meet their painting needs in a cycle of trial and error. Many times artists resort to making their own devices to accommodate their blooming needs since commercial products are not available to suit the needs of the artist as they develop their own knowledge and techniques. 
         [0005]    This scenario is certainly true when it comes to painter&#39;s palettes and their method of use. Some of the problems encountered are: How does a painters&#39; palette affect my work? How do I effectively mix and store my paints, and prevent my oil paint from drying out, once deposited on the palette? What is the most prudent way to keep a painter&#39;s palette clean from the residue of oil paint? Does the surface color of the palette impact my work? Is the position of the palette in left hand, right hand or on the table important? How do I judge the colors I am looking at and the colors I am mixing and how does the palette influence that judgment? 
         [0006]    Devices to solve some of these past problems are known such as those shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,457 entitled “Paint Box” issued to Claus Rayhle on Aug. 23, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,014 entitled “Palette with Disposable Mixing Surface for Mixing Blendable Materials” issued to George G. Holt on Apr. 26, 1988; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,302 entitled “Combination Paint Palette and Storage Device” issued to Jon S. Seisa on Jan. 11, 1994. These devices do not fully resolve the broad aspect of problems encountered in artistic training and the use of an adequate painter&#39;s palette. 
         [0007]    From the above, it can be seen what is needed is a painter&#39;s palette that is easily cleanable, keeps the paint from drying out and that has a grayscale value scale and color wheel on a neutral surface. In addition, it is desirable to have such a palette that is easily stored in its own storage box. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    A painter&#39;s palette is disclosed having a mixing area large enough to support the artist&#39;s color mixing needs. Recessed paint troughs are formed or attached to either side of the mixing area to store the various daubs of artist paint. These troughs separate the daubs from the main mixing surface and their recessed nature facilitates easy clean up of the mixing area. Because the troughs are recessed, the depth of troughs minimizes the surface area of paint exposed to air and protects the user&#39;s sleeves and hands from paint daub contact. The troughs also add structural integrity to the palette as well as adding the functional feature of supporting the palette at a reasonable distance above a table top to facilitate handling of the palette. The palette surface preferably has a medium color value to allow the user to judge and facilitate the mixing of paint colors A centralized opening for the thumb or finger makes left and right hand use possible. 
         [0009]    In a preferred embodiment of the palette, the palette includes a grayscale value segment and a color wheel reference guide to help the artist ascertain and determine color relationships. 
         [0010]    In a preferred embodiment, the palette is part of a system including a storage and transportation container that also acts as a carrying case. The storage and transportation container is preferably large enough to allow for storage of other art materials and supplies in addition to storing the palette. The storage and transportation container is engineered to allow the user to transport the palette parallel to the ground, allowing “wet” paint to remain on the palette. This allows the user to retain whatever investment of paint the user has on the palette between transports. To this same end, the storage and transportation container is engineered with enough open space between the palette&#39;s top surface and the underside of the lid of the storage and transportation container to allow reasonable paint daubs to not contact the lid during storage and transport. 
         [0011]    In a most preferred embodiment, the storage and transportation container is storable in a refrigerator or freezer to prevent the oil paints, deposited from tubes onto the mixing area or into the troughs, from drying out. To this same end, the palette troughs possess end caps and the palette surface is water repellant so that the user may fill the troughs with water (for example, by submerging the palette and daubs on the palette and in the troughs in water) thereby effectively inhibiting the dry time of the daubs. 
         [0012]    It is therefore an object of the present invention in one or more embodiments to provide a painter&#39;s palette that has: 
         [0013]    a mixing area large enough to support the artist&#39;s color mixing needs; 
         [0014]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area to store the various daubs of artist paint; 
         [0015]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area to separate paint daubs from the main mixing surface of the palette; 
         [0016]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area that facilitates easy clean up of the mixing area; 
         [0017]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area that minimizes the surface area of paint exposed to air; 
         [0018]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area that protects the user&#39;s sleeves and hands from paint daub contact; 
         [0019]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area that also add structural integrity to the palette; 
         [0020]    recessed paint troughs with end caps to facilitate the submerging of the paint daubs in water, thus inhibiting their drying out between uses; 
         [0021]    recessed paint troughs formed with or attached to either side of a mixing area that supports the palette at a reasonable distance above a table top or other flat surface to facilitate handling of the palette; 
         [0022]    a medium color value, including, but not limited to, a mixture of cool and warm colored grays, to allow the acrylic or oil paint user to judge and facilitate the mixing of the acrylic or oil paint colors; 
         [0023]    a centralized opening for the thumb or finger that makes left or right hand use or both left and right hand use possible; 
         [0024]    a grayscale value segment; and 
         [0025]    a color wheel reference guide. 
         [0026]    It is therefore also an object of the present invention in one or more embodiments to provide a painter&#39;s palette that is: 
         [0027]    a part of a system including a storage and transportation container that is large enough to allow for storage of other art materials and supplies in addition to storing the palette; 
         [0028]    part of a system including a storage and transportation container that is storable in a refrigerator or freezer to inhibit oil paints, deposited from tubes onto the mixing area or into the troughs of a palette according to the teachings of this invention, from drying out; 
         [0029]    part of a system including a storage and transportation container that is capable of being stored in a refrigerator or freezer to keep oil paints, deposited from tubes onto the mixing area or into the troughs, from drying out, and engineered to allow parallel-to-the-ground transport and a clear space above the palette to accommodate the transport or storage of a palette “loaded” with paint daubs. 
         [0030]    Not all of these objects need be present in a single embodiment. Instead, a particular embodiment may have one or more of these objects. These and other objects of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the drawings 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0031]    The invention will be described hereafter in detail with particular reference to the drawings. Throughout this description, like elements, in whatever embodiment described, refer to common elements wherever referred to and referenced by the same reference number. The characteristics, attributes, functions, interrelations ascribed to a particular element in one location apply to that element when referred to by the same reference number in another location unless specifically stated otherwise. In addition, the exact dimensions and dimensional proportions to conform to specific force, weight, strength and similar requirements will be within the skill of the art after the following description has been read and understood. Furthermore, when the terms “top”, “bottom”, “side” and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawings as it would appear to a person viewing the drawings and are utilized only to facilitate describing the embodiments. 
           [0032]    All Figures are drawn for ease of explanation of the basic teachings of the present invention only; the extensions of the Figures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of the parts to form examples of the various embodiments will be explained or will be within the skill of the art after the following description has been read and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensional proportions to conform to specific force, weight, strength and similar requirements will likewise be within the skill of the art after the following description has been read and understood. 
           [0033]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the painter&#39;s palette of the present invention. 
           [0034]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 3  is an end view of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0036]      FIG. 4  is an end view of a variant of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0037]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 1  in a storage box with the storage box&#39;s cover open. 
           [0038]      FIG. 6  is a side sectional view of painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 4  in the storage box of  FIG. 5  with the storage box&#39;s cover closed. 
           [0039]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 1  in use. 
           [0040]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the painter&#39;s palette of  FIG. 4  in storage in a freezer with the freezer&#39;s door open. 
           [0041]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the painter&#39;s palette of the present invention. 
           [0042]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the painter&#39;s palette of the present invention using trough end caps. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0043]    In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not to limit the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The palette of the present invention is shown in the drawings generally labeled  10 . The palette includes a mixing surface  12  having a top side  14  and a bottom side  16 . In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10 , the mixing surface  12  has a gripping hole  18  that extends entirely through the mixing surface  12 . Also in the preferred embodiment, the mixing surface  12  is rectangular with opposed sides  20  and opposed ends  22 . The preferred embodiment of the palette  10  includes two troughs  24  formed along the opposed sides  20 . 
         [0044]    In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10 , the mixing surface  12  is generally planar. As mentioned, the mixing surface  12  is preferably rectangular but may also have any quadrilateral form or any other shape including, but not limited to, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, septagonal, octagonal, nonagonal, decagonal, n-sided polygon, elliptical, oval, circular, parallelogram, rhombus, square, trapezoid, the shape of known objects of forms (e.g., trademarks), geographic areas (e.g., the shape of states or countries) or free-form. Further, although the mixing surface  12  is preferably planar, the mixing surface  12  may also be nonplanar. 
         [0045]    As mentioned, the palette  10  preferably includes a gripping hole  18  located within the boundaries of the mixing surface  12 . This gripping hole  18  is preferably located near one opposed end  22  of the mixing surface  12  and is more preferably located near one opposed end  22  of the mixing surface  12  and equally located between the opposed sides  20 . In this way, either left-handed or right-handed users of the palette  10  are able to grip the palette  10  with equal functionality by inserting a thumb or finger through the gripping hole  18  as is commonly done with such palettes in use ( FIG. 7 ). 
         [0046]    In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), at least one grayscale segment  26  is located on the mixing surface  12  preferably near or at one opposed end  22 . This grayscale segment  26  is a value chart that allows the painter to ascertain the value of color of the paint they are creating by mixing paint on the mixing surface  12  by comparing the relative value of such paint to the values depicted on the grayscale segment  26 . This arrangement of the grayscale segment  26  makes possible holding the palette  10  up to a subject to make comparison of subject value and value scale. Making this value determination is particularly valuable since value is the most important component in color. This allows color mixing to be engineered and value arrangements facilitated by use of this systematic combination of elements. 
         [0047]    Although the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  has one grayscale segment  26  located on the mixing surface  12  near or at one opposed end  22  of the palette  10 , the grayscale segment  26  may be located anywhere on the mixing surface  12 . In addition, more than one grayscale segment  26  may be used and located as desired on the mixing surface  12 . 
         [0048]    Also in the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ), at least one color wheel  28  is located on the mixing surface  12  preferably near or at one opposed end  22  and more preferably around the gripping hole  18 . This color wheel  28  is any well known and understood color wheel in any variant including, but not limited to, traditional and painters&#39; color wheels (“R.O.Y.G.B.I.V.”) that display primary, secondary and tertiary colors and may include hues, neutral values and intensities of these colors. The color wheel  28  allows the painter to ascertain color harmonies and schemes of color of the paint they intend to use or are creating by mixing paint on the mixing surface  12 . Although the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  has one color wheel  28  located on the mixing surface  12  near or at one opposed end  22  of the palette  10 , preferably around the gripping hole  18 , the color wheel  28  may be located anywhere on the mixing surface  12 . In addition, more than one color wheel  28  may be used and located as desired on the mixing surface  12 . 
         [0049]    As described above, the palette  10  preferably includes two troughs  24  formed along the opposed side  20  of the mixing surface  12 . As can be seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , troughs  24  have a concave cross-section with sides  30 , a bottom portion  32  at the lowest portion of sides  30  where the sides  30  come together and an upper portion  34  between open ends of the sides  30  forming an opening  36  between the upper ends of the sides. In this configuration, the bottom portion  32  of troughs  24  is lower than the upper portions  34  of the troughs  24 . Troughs  24  are integrally formed with or attached to the mixing surface  12  so that the troughs  24  extend downward lower than the bottom side  16  of the mixing surface  12 . As a result, when the palette  10  is placed on a tabletop or other flat surface, the mixing surface  12  is located a distance above the surface of the tabletop or other flat surface. This allows the user to more easily grip and lift the palette  10  by placing his or her hand in the area between the tabletop or other flat surface and the bottom side  16  of the mixing surface  12 . 
         [0050]    Although the preferred embodiment of appellate  10  includes two troughs  24 , a single trough  24  may be formed along a single opposed side  20 . In another embodiment of the palette  10 , a trough  24  may be formed on every side of the mixing surface  12  or on three of the four sides of the mixing surface  12  where the mixing surface  12  has a quadrilateral form or one or more troughs  24  may be attached to any side of the mixing surface  12  as desired. 
         [0051]    The function of the troughs  24  is to hold paint that the user intends to use and, in some embodiments, to add structural integrity to the palette  10 . Because these troughs  24  are recessed (i.e., the bottom portion  32  is lower than the upper portions  34 ), paint placed in the troughs  24  is exposed to the air primarily at opening  36  so that the paint has less surface area exposed to the air than if the pain were left on the mixing surface  12 . As a result, the troughs  24  promote the paint kept in the troughs  24  from drying out as fast as they would if they were placed on a flat surface. 
         [0052]    An additional benefit of placing paint in the troughs  24  is that because the paint is lower than would be if it were placed on the mixing surface  12 , placing paint in the troughs  24  reduces the risk of the painter&#39;s hand inadvertently contacting the paint as often as would occur where the paint located at the same level as or on the mixing surface  12 . 
         [0053]    In the preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-8 , the troughs  24  have open ends  38 . In an alternate embodiment of the palette  10  shown in  FIG. 9 , the ends  38  of the troughs  24  have end caps  40  that are dimensioned to fit securely into or onto the ends  38  of the troughs  24  by means well understood in the art including, but not limited to, friction fit, mechanical connection, snaps, adhesives, screws or clamps. These end caps  40  may be either permanently attached to the ends  38  of the troughs or removable as desired. The end caps  40  prevent the paint from moving out of the troughs  24  and minimize the surface area of paint placed against the end caps  40  that is exposed to air thereby slowing the drying of these paints. In addition, the end caps  40  allow water to be retained in the troughs  24  which minimizes the exposure of paint contained in the troughs to air when the troughs are filled with water thereby inhibiting the drying of these paints. 
         [0054]    In another alternate embodiment of the palette  10 , the troughs  24  have integrally formed closed ends  42  at the ends  38  of the troughs  24 . These integrally formed closed ends  42  also prevent the paint from moving out of the troughs  24  and minimize the surface area of paint placed against the closed ends  42  that is exposed to air thereby slowing the drying of these paints. Further, the closed ends  42  also allow water to be retained in the troughs  24  which minimizes the exposure of paint contained in the troughs to air when the troughs are filled with water thereby inhibiting the drying of these paints. These closed ends  42  are preferably integrally formed with the palette  10  as the palette  10  is formed as described above. 
         [0055]    The palette  10  is preferably sized and shaped to small enough to be portable with art books and other items that the painter may carry with him or her. In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10 , the palette  10  is made of plastic, wood, glass, cardboard, paper, metal, ceramic, or any other sturdy inert material preferably by molding, pressing, punching, shaping and then setting the shape as, for example, by firing or other techniques well understood in the art for integrally forming such devices. It may also be desirable to make the palette  10  out of biodegradable or recycled material and may be engineered to be disposable or otherwise easily cleanable for reuse. Of course, the fact that the palette  10  in one embodiment is disposable greatly aids the user in clean up from painting activities since the palette  10  is simply disposed of rather than cleaned. 
         [0056]    In this preferred embodiment of the palette  10 , the mixing surface  12  and troughs  24  are integrally formed of the same material at the same time. It is also desirable, but not required, that the palette  10  be made so that several palettes  10  may be stacked or nested on top of each other to facilitate storage and transport of the palette  10 . Although the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  has the troughs  24  integrally formed with the mixing surface  12 , the troughs  24  may be formed independently of the same or dissimilar materials as the mixing surface  12  and attached to the mixing surface  12  by means well-known it in the art including, but not limited to, adhesives, screws, clamps, snaps, friction fit or mechanical connection. 
         [0057]    In one embodiment of the palette  10 , contact paper  44  overlies the palette  10 . This contact paper  44  is preferably dimensioned to correspond to the dimensions of the palette  10  so that the contact paper  44  covers the entire upper surface of the palette  10  including lining the troughs  24  ( FIG. 4 ). Although the preferred embodiment of the invention palette  10  has the contact paper  44  covering the entire upper surface of the palette  10  including the top side  14  of the mixing surface  12  and lining the troughs  24 , it is also within the scope of the invention to have the contact paper  44  covering only the top side  14  of the mixing surface  12 , portions of the top side  14  of the mixing surface  12  or lining only a portion of the troughs  24  or lining less than all of the troughs  24 . 
         [0058]    The contact paper  44  is preferably a thin, flexible material like contact paper (sometimes referred to as “shelf paper”) that is sticky on one side only which sticky side contacts the upper surface of the palette  10  at the top side  14  of the mixing surface  12  and lines the troughs  24  in all the variants described above. In a variant of the contact paper  44 , only the peripheral edges  46  of the contact paper  44  are sticky on one side of the contact paper  44 . Also, contact paper  44  is preferably clear so that the user can see the grayscale segment  26  or color wheel  28  on the mixing surface  12 . However, the contact paper  44  may also itself be colored or included a grayscale segment  26  or color wheel  28  or both as described above. 
         [0059]    In use, the contact paper  44  is applied to the upper surface of the palette  10  on the top side  14  of the mixing surface  12  and in the troughs  24  before painting to protect the palette  10 . After the painting is done, the contact paper  44  is removed from contact with the palette  10  and thrown away. The next time it is desired to do painting, a new contact paper  44  is applied to the palette  10 . 
         [0060]    In a variant of this embodiment, several pieces of contact paper  44  are stacked upon each other in layers and placed in contact with the upper surface of the palette  10  in contact with the tops side  13  of the mixing surface  12  and lining the troughs  24 . In use, the painter places the paint to be mixed or applied on the contact paper  44  above the mixing surface  12  or in the troughs  24 . When the painter is done painting, the top layer of contact paper  44  along with the paint applied to the contact paper  44  is removed and disposed of. As a result, a new, clean piece of contact paper  44  is present for the painter for use. 
         [0061]    In a variant of the contact paper  44 , the contact paper  44  may be made of layers of water absorbable material like watercolor paper and a cover layer of plastic or similar material that is somewhat porous to water. In this embodiment, the contact paper  44  is applied to the palette  10  as described above. However, before use, the contact paper  44  is wet with clean water so that the water absorbent layer of the contact paper  44  absorbs the water. Then, as the painter places acrylic paint on cover layer of the contact paper  44 , as the water in the acrylic paint evaporates, the water is replaced by water held in the absorbable layer of that contact paper  44  that passes from the absorbable layer through the cover layer to the paint through osmosis so the paint doesn&#39;t dry out as fast as normal. 
         [0062]    In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  for use by users of acrylic or oil paints, the entire palette  10  including the troughs  24  but excluding the grayscale color segment  20  and color wheel  28  is made of a material or is otherwise colored to have a medium value or neutral color. This medium value or neutral color is preferably a marbled combination of cool and warm gray. By having the palette  10  in a medium value or neutral color, the painter is able to mix colors without being influenced by visual interactions between the color they are creating and the palette  10  itself. 
         [0063]    In the preferred embodiment of the palette  10  for use by users of watercolors, the entire palette  10  including the troughs  24  but excluding the grayscale color segment  20  and color wheel  28  is made of a material or is otherwise colored white. Having the palette  10  in this white color provides a more appropriate reference to judge the watercolor paint colors and the color resulting from the mixing of these watercolor paints. 
         [0064]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the palette  10  is part of a system  48  that includes a box  50  ( FIG. 6 ) for storing the palette  10 . The function of the box  50  is to store the palette  10  along with the paint brushes  52 , paints  54  and other instruments commonly used by painters. The box  50  includes a bottom portion  56  and a top portion  58 . In this embodiment, the outer edge  60  of the palette  10  includes a lip  62  that extends away from the main body of the palette  10 . The bottom portion  56  has a ledge  64  on its inside surface that is dimensioned to hold the lip  62  so that the palette  10  is supported by the interaction of the lip  62  and the ledge  64  in the bottom portion  56 . 
         [0065]    The bottom portion  56  is preferably sized to allow paint brushes  52  and paint  54  to be stored within the bottom portion  56 . This allows the palette  10 , paint brushes  52  and paints  54  along with all other instruments used by the painter to be conveniently and efficiently carried to locations of interest to the painter. 
         [0066]    The top portion  58  is preferably sized to mate with the bottom portion  56  to form an integral box  50 . In the preferred embodiment of the box  50 , the top portion  58  is sized to allow a space between any paint on the mixing surface  12  of the palette  10  and the top portion  58 . This allows the user to store and transport the palette  10  “loaded” with daubs of paint on the mixing surface  12  or in the troughs  24  without contact with the top portion  58 . The box  50  also preferably has handles  66  to allow the box  50  to be more easily grasped and transported. 
         [0067]    In a more preferred embodiment of the invention, the box  50  allows the palette  10 , paint brushes  52 , paints  54  and other instruments to be stored in a freezer or refrigerator. The advantage of storing the palette  10 , paint brushes  52 , paints  54  and other instruments in a cool environment such as that produced by a freezer or refrigerator is that when oil-based paints are stored in cold or cool places, they don&#39;t dry out as fast as they would in warmer environments. As result, a painter with an oil-based paint on the palette  10  could place the palette  10  in the box  50  and then place the box  50  in the refrigerator or freezer. After a period of time, the painter could retrieve the box  50  with the palette  10  containing the paint and resume painting without having the paint rendered useless by drying out. 
         [0068]    Although it is desirable to have a box  50  to store the palette  10  particularly where the palette  10  along with paint brushes  52  and paint  54  are stored in a refrigerator or freezer, it is also intended that the palette  10  itself without a box  50  may be stored in a refrigerator or freezer  68  as shown in  FIG. 8 . When the palette  10  itself is placed in the refrigerator or freezer  68 , the paint on the palette  10  receives the benefits of slowing the drying of paint described above. 
         [0069]    In use, paint daubs  70  are placed on the mixing surface  12  or in the troughs  24  from the paints  54  ( FIG. 7 ). There, the paint may be mixed and then used or used as is as desired by the artist. The artist grasps the palette  10  by placing his or her finger or thumb through the gripping hole  18 . 
         [0070]    While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible such as additional numbers and locations of troughs  24 , grayscale segments  26 , color wheels  28  and proportions and dimensions of the palette  10  or box  50 , materials of construction, configuration of the box  50  or number or locations of handles  66 . 
         [0071]    Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. The description contained herein is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. Many variations and alternatives of the described technique and method will occur to one of ordinary skill in this art. Variations in form to the component pieces described and shown in the drawings may be made as will occur to those skilled in the art. Further, although certain embodiments of a palette  10  have been described, it is also within the scope of the invention to add other additional components or to remove certain components such as the troughs  24 , contact paper  44 , grayscale value segment  20  or color wheel  28 . All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the attached claims. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto. As a result, while the above description contains may specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention but rather as examples of different embodiments thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.