extension ladder 10 typically includes a plurality of laterally spaced rungs 12 mounted between a pair of parallel side rails 14 the side rails 14 typically extend a distance above the top rung 12 and terminate at stub ends 16 these ends 16 are used to support the ladder 10 against a structure of some kind such as a house 18 the holder apparatus of the present invention is broadly designated by the numeral 20 the holder apparatus 20 includes a base member 22 separating two rail caps 24 intermediate the rail caps 24 is a sleeve 26 shaped as a partial cylinder the sleeve 26 is connected to each rail cap 24 by corresponding support members 28 the base member 22 preferably is a flat plate it is to be understood that other configurations of the base member 22 may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention the base member should be sized and constructed to support at least a gallon sized paint container it should be sufficiently rigid to support the weight of at least a full gallon sized paint container in the preferred embodiment the support member is approximately 13 inches wide and approximately 6 u00bc inches deep it is to be understood that other dimensions for the support member can be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention a rail cap 24 is disposed at each side of the base member 22 each rail cap is spaced and sized to receive a stub end 16 of a rail 14 of a ladder 10 typically the rail caps 24 are spaced apart to receive the ends 16 of a conventional ladder generally between 13 and 18 inches generally each rail cap has a trapezoidal elevational cross section featuring.