What is a palette knife?
A palette knife is a unique, flexible, steel blade tool that is used for applying and mixing paint, adding texture to your painting and scraping off paint from your palette when you have finished painting. There are a variety of shapes and sizes, with multiple edge finishings that can help to create a variety of effects to your painting. You really only need one or two basic shapes to get started though.
Palette knives are generally crafted from stainless or iron steel and most blade lengths range from 5-15 centimetres long. They look like cake decorating spatulas.
Palette Knife
A flexible steel blade with a handle for mixing colours, applying or removing paint.
The trowel blade is a classic shape with its slightly rounded pointed tip. There are many shapes to choose from and you can experiment with your painting to choose what works for you.
Palette knives are versatile tools and great for abstract painting and impressionistic works (short, thick strokes) that attempt to create the feeling or impression of the subject rather than the details of realism. You can make thin lines with the sides of a palette knife, sweep a colour into another, and not entirely blend the two colours, scrape paint that you've already applied off your canvas and many other effects.
Using a palette knife is a great way to apply and build up bold texture and colour by layering paint. You can paint on top of wet layers, but you must make sure to clean your knife every so often to avoid blurring the colours that you've selected. The palette knife is super easy to clean, just wipe with a cloth or paper towel.
One downside to palette knives is that you can't always paint with as much accuracy as with a brush or do intricate brush work, but the gorgeous colours and layers you can achieve make up for it!
If you are curious about the different shapes of palette knives, the best way to discover which blade shape works for you is to experiment with three completely different shapes with your favourite colour paint, and remember, enjoy your experimenting!
