ART (OTHER FORMS) > KNIFE PAINTING

A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. It is primarily used for mixing paint colors, paste, etc., or for marbling, decorative endpapers, etc. But it is not just a tool for mixing paint on your palette. You can actually use the palette knife to create some pretty stunning effects in your paintings which are not possible with a brush. Some artists ignore the brush all together in favor of the palette knife and use just a standard-shaped palette knife in a few different sizes for the complete painting. Knife painting is also very effective when a lot of texture is required while painting. For example, while painting frothy sea waves, clouds, bark of a tree, coconut tree leaves, brick walls, animal feathers, etc, using a palette knife is a great idea! Here are some of the pros and cons of using a palette knife for painting: Pros: ? It is so easy to clean a palette knife. You literally just need one wipe with a cloth or paper towel and all the paint is gone. This is a huge advantage over brushes, which require much more care. ? It can be cheap, depending on the quality of the palette knife. ? It is great for building up a thick texture and creating a broken color effect. ? You can use the edge of the palette knife to create sharp lines. ? The bold strokes created by the palette knife can complement the more delicate strokes created by the brush. ? You can paint on top of wet layers without having to worry about the paint blending (like it does with your brush). Cons: ? You are not able to paint with as much accuracy using a palette knife. ? It is not as versatile as a brush.