he problem with working in watercolour away from a studio is not the paint — it is the palette. Most portable palettes are either too small to mix in properly, too large for a jacket pocket, or have removable pans that migrate around the bag and lose their lids. The Petra solves this differently: six wells are cut directly into the body of the maple itself, so there are no inserts to lose and no moving parts to assemble before you start. The mixing tray is sealed with EcoPoxy — a natural resin that produces a smooth, non-porous surface — so paint lifts cleanly rather than soaking into the wood. The leather cover sits over the wells with a simple leather tie, and the whole thing slips into a jacket pocket or the pen and brush pockets of a Sendak roll.
Peg and Awl is a husband-and-wife studio in Philadelphia that makes everything by hand from natural and often salvaged materials. The maple is FSC-certified sustainable American timber, finished with tung oil, which means the palette develops its own character with use — paint stains and tung oil marks accumulate in a way that records the owner’s colour choices over time rather than being something to clean off.
Honest Note:
Who is it For?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUSTIONS (FAQ)
Does this fit standard half-pan watercolour sets?
No — the wells are longer than a standard half-pan and shallower, designed for squeezing tube paint or mixing pigments directly rather than holding pre-filled half-pans. This is a mixing and transport palette, not a half-pan storage system.
Is the mixing surface easy to clean between sessions?
he EcoPoxy-sealed mixing well is smoother than bare wood and resists staining better than most surfaces — watercolour lifts fairly easily with a damp cloth. Dried paint does build up over multiple sessions, which most watercolourists treat as patina rather than a problem.
Does it come with paint or is it just the palette?
Just the palette — no paint included. It’s designed for artists who already have their preferred colours and want a better way to travel with them.
Will this fit in the Mini Sendak Artist Roll?
es, explicitly — Peg and Awl designed the Petra to fit both the Mini and Classic Sendak rolls, so this is a natural pairing product for any customer already considering or owning a Sendak.