Painting knife and a palette knife are two terms that are often interchangeably used when it comes to applying paint on any surface. Both of the tools come in either plastic, wood or metal, with blades in different shapes and sizes. The ideal purpose of a palette knife is to mix colors or to clean and scrap a surface. On the other hand, a painting knife is mostly used for painting purpose. The way you use your painting knife has a lot to say about your painterly skills. How much paint you take on the blade, the way you drag the blade on the canvas and also the way you hold it helps to create the kind of effect and texture you want in your painting.

Consistency in Paint

You have to be consistent in the way you apply the paint on the surface so as to prevent the paint from creating cracks when it dries up. You could underpaint on the surface and then use the painting knife to create the desired results. This helps to give desirable layering to the painting. However, ensure that the colors you use for underpainting are not too dark or else the areas where you use dark colors in your underpainting will look darker than the rest of the areas. If certain areas of the underpainting are visible even after the finishing touches, you need not worry about it.

When you use a knife for painting, make sure that you mix the colors well on the palette. But keep it in mind that when you are painting with a paint knife, do not use a thinning medium to thin down the paint because when using a knife you would want the paint to be thick to add the right kind of effect on the surface.

Twirl the Knife When Needed

One thing that is a must when using a painting knife is to know how to hold it in the right way. It is the same as applying to frost over a cake. If you are expecting a certain kind of texture and thickness to the painting, you have to know how to hold it well. You could twirl it, wave it the way you want but get the desired effect, the main thing is to know how to hold it and apply the paint with the knife.

Another thing that is equally important is to have a clean palette knife whenever you think you need to change the colors. You could easily remove the stains of the previous colors with a blade, or a cloth or tissue papers. When you use the painting knife, ensure that you keep checking the knife so as to make sure no paint mud is accumulating on the blade. This could otherwise lead to stains on the surface that could spoil your entire painting.

Choosing the Size of the Knife

If you want to draw pictures to painting with smooth textures on large areas such as water or sky then you would require a large knife, whereas if you want to give effects and add textures on elements such as a tree or some kind of reflection, you could do with a mid-sized painting knife. On the other hand, if there are areas such as the edge of a tree or giving minor highlights to a portrait or some other kind of fine detailing, you could use a small painting knife.

Drying Effects

When your painting begins to dry, you will notice a layer of skin over it that will be thick and if you touch it much you could even drag it out. But do not disturb the paint. You could feel the effect is not as desirable as expected but let the drying process be completed, until then don’t touch the paint or add more layers to it. Ideally, a painting completed with a painting knife should be given at least a month for it to dry to see the relative effect of the thick paint on it. If you touch it too often, you will notice that the layers inside could be damaged. Once the painting has dried completely, you could spray a varnish over it to protect it for years and maintain the thickness of the painting as well.

Painting knife is a tricky technique and takes a lot of practice to have control over it when painting. But we are sure that if you apply the techniques in this article to it, your perfect painting with a knife is not too far away. So keep aside your brushes and get your painting knives ready to make a difference to your painting sessions. Happy Painting!

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