I drop towels underneath and around the painting and the pallette. This way I can easily and quickly dab and dry my brushes without taking my eye off whats going on with the flowing paint. Basicly paint flys and I dont have time to worry about it. Time to change the water. I use two containers, one to wash out the excess paint, and the second to completely clean and start new color with clean water. Its important not to contaminate colors with other unwanted color in order to keep things fresh and vibrant.