Term: Palette

A palette is a rigid, flat surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. Palettes are typically made of wood, plastic, ceramic, or other hard nonporous material. Palettes are almost always placed near the painting surface to provide the artist easy access, and to allow the colors to be compared to those already on the surface. Palettes can be attached to the easel, placed on an adjacent table, or held in the artist's hand.

The term "palette" may also be used to refer to the selection of colors used in one or more paintings.