Put your paintbrush to the side for a moment and fall in love with the versatility, comfort, and dynamism of palette knives. It’s not just a tool used to mix paint on a palette; it’s a skill in itself that can be difficult at times but undoubtedly, rewarding. With this guide, you will explore different palette knife painting techniques, tools, and tips.

what is PALETTE KNIFE PAINTING?

A palette knife to many artists is like a piano to a pianist - essential and valuable. This tool is characterized by its straight or slightly bent handle, rounded tip, and blunt, flexible metal blade. In the 19th century during artistic movements such as Impressionism, this instrument was predominantly used as a means of mixing both acrylic and oil paint on a palette, and later on, in the 20th century, artists like Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse began to experiment by using it as the sole tool to paint an entire piece with.

A high-quality palette knife is identified by its semi-flexible, durable blade, a comfortable handle coupled with straight, dull, long edges. Try to avoid plastic palette knives as they are not as durable as metal ones. The great thing about palette knives is that they are easy to clean when using a damp cloth and come in different sizes. If you want your strokes to be sharp and angular, you can use a short blade. Meanwhile, using a long blade allows you to sweep the paint on the canvas and cover extensive lengths of it at once. Continually, when used with a paintbrush, they can produce stunning natural and expressive effects and can bring more versatility and optical depth and complexity to your artwork. Talented, self-taught Australian artist, 3rd Edition Finalist, Claire McCall attests to the buttery texture and surface shine that a knife can create when describing her medium in an interview with artist and founder of Boynes Emerging Artist Award, Chantal Boynes.

The term ‘palette knife’ is often interchanged with ‘painting knife’ as they share similarities but are inherently different. A painting knife is primarily used as a means of painting and its handle has a greater bend and more angular form in comparison to that of a palette knife. Palette knives are commonly used for colour mixing on your palette; however, their capabilities are endless and advantageous to artists interested in the numerous techniques within painting.

PALETTE KNIFE PAINTING TECHNIQUES

1. BROKEN COLOUR

One thing a palette knife can do, that a brush cannot, is build layers using thick pigments and small strokes to create a broken colour effect. This effect incorporates texture, depth, and optical mixing because the colours are not literally blended together but rather layered on top of each other to produce a vibrant and energetic piece. You should aim to thoroughly cover up the underpainting with small, layered and unblended strokes. Start by sweeping a small amount of paint with your palette knife and applying it to your ground. Remember to use multiple colour values as opposed to one to avoid creating a flat effect. Colour temperature is also important to consider along with dark and bright hues because colours such as reds, yellows, and oranges will have a warmer appearance as opposed to blues and greens that depict a cooler appearance.

You can use this technique to create a numerical illusion or an illusion of quantity when thinly applying pigment to paint grass, hair, sand, rocks, and cliffs. Broken colour can also be used to illustrate and represent the rough textures of objects such as turbulent water, walls, pathways, and buildings. Equally, you can use this technique to capture colour depth and smoothness when painting clouds and still water. The thin, clean lines in grass and hair can be acheived by using the thin edge of your palette knife and for thicker lines, you can use the flat surface of the blade at different angles.

Broken colour was popular amongst impressionists such as Claude Monet and continues to be welcomed by artists inspired by the movement as it highlights the juxtaposition and relationship of colours, captures the essence of the play of light through the wide spectrum of colours applied and authentically represents the complexity and dynamism of colour present in nature.

2. scumbling

Scumbling traditionally refers to the dry brush painting technique in which a thin coat of opaque paint is applied to produce an overall softer effect. Yet, many artists have ventured outside of commonly using a paintbrush for this technique and have experimented with palette knifes instead. Similar to brushwork, the palette knife is used to create broken lines or speckles associated with scumbling. If you wish to use a glaze to enhance your piece, you can make your own glaze made from oil paint and a translucent liquid binder. Then, you will use this glaze and your paint on the knife to create a broken glazed effect. For optimal results, you want to ensure that your palette knife is dry and clean and that your hand remains loose over the painted layers that already exist. You can scumble over both dried and wet paint; however, be mindful that when the paint is still wet, mixing can occur, so, it best to make sure the paint thoroughly dries to achieve your desired results. Furthermore, you should try to avoid covering the entirety of the under painting and when scumbling, place light colours over dark colours as it proves to be more effective, especially, when authentically depicting light.

Similar to the aforementioned broken colour technique, scumbling gives a profond optically mixed and cohesive effect from a distance and integrates depth through the painted layers. When you look closer at the painting, you’ll truly be able to see the immense range of texture. 

3. SGRAFFITO

Sgraffito, also known as scrapping, is a palette knife technique that utilizes the tip and edges of the blade to scratch or scrape the still-wet top  layer of paint to reveal the completely dry underlying paint surface or canvas. This word’s entomological derivation is from the Italian word “sgraffire” meaning “to scratch”. The lower layer is often a different colour as to highlight the contrast between layers. With this technique, you can use watercolour, oils and acrylics. To avoid cutting the canvas, you should start by applying little pressure and increase as you see fit. It’s easier to scratch the canvas with a sharper blade like that of a painting knife but seeing that palette knives have blunter blade tips, you may need to apply more force. Equally, even though your top layer should still be wet, the consistency shouldn’t be runny or else it will fill the spaces that have been scrapped. Try using thicker pigments that hold their form easily, so that, this does not happen or if using watercolour, you can let it dry for a little bit but not completely. 

When experimenting with Sgraffito on paper, you should adopt the same technique of letting the paint dry for a little bit or else the knife will scratch and indent the surface of the paper and the paint will collect in those areas as opposed to showing the paper. Apply very delicate force when using a knife on paper as the paper would be more fragile and porous as you scratch its bonds and surface.

4. IMPASTO

Impasto is a painting technique in which paint is applied to a support in very thick layers with visible strokes. The best suited paint for this technique is oil paint due to its thick nature and slow drying time. To achieve these large strokes, you would need to use the flat base of the blade. According to Scottish artist, Judith Bridgland, known for her works featuring the impasto technique, the best grounds to use are linen canvases and even wood surfaces due to the smoothness, flexibility and strength. She also posits that seascapes and petals of flowers are often enhanced when using this technique. 

Due to the slow drying nature of thick pigments like oil paints, you may encounter wrinkles or cracks in the paint film. To rectify this is simple through the use of mediums such as fast drying alkyds or others that are designed for impasto painting like Chromacryl Impasto Gel Mediums. Continually, to get the perfect oil paint for Impasto, you can use absorbent paper to remove excess oil in the paint and ensure that the paint is firm enough to use. Retaining the excess oil means that the stroke work will not be as effective or textured and you may not be able to achieve your desire effect.

All in all, palette knives are such a handy tool to have in your collection by virtue of their versatility. If you love to experiment with your art, you can try out the techniques such as Impasto, Sgraffito, Broken colour and Scumbling that we have outlined. We’re sure that you’ll be pleased with the dynamic abilities of this instrument especially when coupled with your trusty paintbrush. Happy painting!