Mark Making with Palette Knives
Thin Lines
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
By dipping the edge of a painting knife into a pile of paint and then tapping the knife down on your canvas,
you can produce very fine lines.
Hard Edges
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
Dip a painting knife into some paint then onto your canvas so the blade is at 90 degrees to the surface. Then
tilt the knife to one side, press down firmly, and pull strongly to one side. This produces a painted area with
a hard edge.
Exactly what shape you produce depends on how much paint you had on your knife, and how hard you
pulled or scraped it across the surface. If you have gaps between the bits of paint on your knife, you'll
produce gaps in the painted area (as shown by the paint adjacent to the knife in the photo).
Smearing
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
This is the "spread the butter or jam" technique of using a painting knife, and the most common approach.
You load a lump of paint onto the painting knife, tap it onto your canvas, then spread it around. Or,
alternatively, squeeze out paint directly onto the canvas, then spread it around.
Flat Texture
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
You can spread out paint with a knife so that it's completely flat, with minimal texture, if any (see righthand side of photo). By lifting your knife from the surface you can create a little ridge of paint, which can
be built up into interesting texture (see left-hand side of photo).
If you're working with acrylic paint, you'll need to work fast or add some glazing medium / retarder to your
paint to give you more open time before the paint dries.
Press and Lift
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
Texture can be created by pressing a painting knife into paint, then onto the canvas, and lifting it. The
results you get will depend on whether you move the knife sideways or just lift it straight off again.
Scratching
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
Call it sgraffito when you're wanting to sound good, but as far as technique goes it's just scratching into wet
paint. A knife with a sharp point will give a narrow line, but any shape of knife can be used.
Thick 'n Thin
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
By altering the pressure you're applying to the painting knife, you can move from laying down paint thickly
to laying down very thin paint in a single stroke, without stopping. You'll get different results depending on
whether you're using an opaque or transparent color, or a color with a strong undertone.
Double-Loading and Mixing Colors
Image © Marion Boddy-Evans
Double loading with color is a technique familiar to decorative painters that can produce beautiful results
when used with a palette knife. As the name suggests, you put two (or more) colors onto your knife before
you apply it to your canvas.
If you use a single, straight stroke, you'll get the two colors applied adjacent to one another. If you go over
the stroke numerous times, or move the knife from side to side, the colors will mix, and that's when
beautiful things can really happen!