Watercolor paint boxes

Charlotte Ameringer <cameringer [at] mfa__org> writes

>Source for an empty watercolor paint box for 48 half-pans sought.
>
>Would anyone have suggestions for where I might obtain an empty
>metal watercolor paint box able to accommodate 48 half-pans? ...

I had trouble finding a watercolors box a few years ago, and then
when I found them, they seemed ridiculously priced for a student
budget. Pearl Paint was stocking them, but last time I checked
(about a year ago), the Philadelphia branch was selling only what
they had left.

At the same time that I was searching, I was getting barraged with
free CDs from AOL. Some of them came in thin metal alternatives to
jewel cases, and it occurred to me that they were just about the
right depth for half-pans. I cut up thin adhesive-backed sheet
magnets and applied them to the bottoms of the half-pans, and made a
magnetic watercolor box, at a far more affordable price (practically
free) than anything that Schmincke or W&N offered. You can rearrange
the half-pans in whichever way you like, and it's easy to remove and
replace them. In a pinch, the lid works as a palette, and when I
close it I place a piece of Mylar over the half-pans so they won't
stick to the lid.

The only drawback is that the lid isn't hinged, but lately I have
been seeing little hinged metal gift card boxes being sold for a
couple of dollars at places like Lowe's and Michael's that might do
the job just as well, though they will hold fewer half-pans.

Judy Dion
Mellon Fellow in Paintings Conservation
Philadelphia Museum of Art
215-684-7563


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 21:9
                   Distributed: Friday, June 8, 2007
                        Message Id: cdl-21-9-010
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