Guide: Palette Knife Painting How To + Examples

If you’ve tried painting with a regular paintbrush and want to experiment with a different way of applying paint, palette knife painting is a fun alternative. But what is a palette knife used for in painting? This commonplace tool can create striking textures and effects. Here’s everything you need to know about how to do a palette knife painting, oil painting and acrylic painting included.

Almost every painter who uses oil or acrylic paints will have a palette knife (also called a painting knife) in their artist kit. They’re usually used for mixing paints together and applying paint from tubes onto palettes. But as Skillshare tutor Martin Jaramillo states, “this tool is quite versatile and can be used in many ways to create incredible effects.”

Palette knives can be used alone or (more commonly) in combination with a paintbrush to add extra details and effects.

Painting with palette knives has a long history, and many of the world’s most famous painters have used this tool. However, for a long time it was only used alongside other painting tools (like paintbrushes) to create isolated effects. For example, the Renaissance painters Titian and Rembrandt used palette knives in some pieces, but it wouldn’t be right to say that their paintings were “palette knife paintings.”

Many traditional Western artistic conventions were challenged in the 19th century, and it was at this time that palette knives became more widely used as a primary (sometimes even the only) tool in painting. French painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) is often credited with popularizing palette knife painting through his landscapes. Nineteenth-century painters like Cezanne, Pissaro, Chagall, Van Gogh, and Matisse also painted with the tool. 

As artists became less concerned with perfectly representing reality and more so with expressing mood, light, and color, the palette knife became an increasingly popular tool, and abstract palette knife painting became more common.

Metal palette knives with a wooden handle come in different sizes and shapes. Avoid using plastic knives, which might be fine for mixing but aren’t robust enough for applying paint to the canvas. Invest in slightly more expensive metal knives from the start to save money in the long run.

For palette knife painting, acrylic or oil paints are best. Because the paint will be applied thickly, you need to work with a paint that won’t crack while dry. Plus, the consistency needs to be thick enough for spreading, not just dabbing or washing, as you would with watercolors. 

When painting with a palette knife, the ideal surface is canvas or wood, but you can also use thick card. No matter what, you need a surface that won’t buckle under pressure.

Palette knives are better than paint brushes for mixing thick oil or acrylic paint because they allow you to be more precise with the amounts of each color. On a smooth palette, mix the paints you want to use into the desired color combinations and variations. Keep in mind that you’ll probably go through much more paint when painting with palette knives rather than brushes, so keep plenty on hand.

When learning about palette knife painting, how to get the different textures is an important skill to practice. Begin by applying paint with a palette knife onto a practice swatch. Apply paint using different pressures and with different sweeping, scraping, and dabbing motions to see what you get. In his introductory palette knife painting tutorial, Jaramillo demonstrates a number of techniques you should practice before starting your main canvas.

If you already have an in-progress painting that you’ve worked on with paintbrushes, you can now paint directly onto the canvas with your knife. If you’re starting a blank canvas from scratch, you might want to plan your painting first with some preliminary sketches in pencil, to guide you as you work. (Of course, if you’re making a palette knife abstract painting, you may not need to sketch in much detail.)

A common mistake to avoid as you start painting with a palette knife is applying the first layers too thickly. Applying too much on the first layer will result in cracking, peeling, or even paint that never fully dries, so build the thickness up gradually instead.  

And finally? Step back and admire the masterpiece you’ve just created.