Painting palette knives come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and have been used since the 1800s to apply paint directly to the surface of a painting. Palette knives allow you to apply paint thickly and freely and to create wonderfully expressive, vibrant results.
The book starts with a comprehensive section on palette knife techniques and working with the relatively fast-drying acrylic paints. There are then be a series of eight projects that become more challenging as the book progresses, beginning with bold, blocky beach huts, moving through sweeping, scenic sea- and snowscapes, and ending with a striking sunset scene of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, UK.
Some of the projects will show how to use palette knives alongside brushes to introduce texture into your paintings, but most are created using palette knives only. The book also explores painting wet-into-wet, as well as collage and mixed media, incorporating paper clippings, sand and sea shells to create a vibrant painting based on a day by the sea.
Table of Contents
Introduction 6
A brief history of the palette knife 8
Tools 10
The knives 10
Materials 12
The paints 12
My palette 14
Additives and mediums 16
Surfaces 17
Other items 18
Brushes 18
My workspace 20
Holding the knife 22
Basic techniques 22
Loading the knife and making a stroke 23
Working with the shapes of the knives: mark-making 24
Care for your knives 38
Ways of mixing 39
The importance of sketching 42
The Projects 44
Beach Huts 46, Summer Meadow 56, Big Rock Splash 66, Winter Woodland 74, Salty Seaside Lobster 85
Taking it further 96
Barges on the Blackwater 99
Alpine Pinkweeds 107
Bamburgh Sunset 114
Index 128
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