Painting with a knife is a bit like putting butter on bread and produces quite a{{U}} (1) {{/U}}result to a brush. Painting knives are excellent for producing textured, impasto work and{{U}} (2) {{/U}}areas of flat colour.
What's the difference between a palette knife and a painting knife?
A palette knife is a long, straight spatula that is used{{U}} (3) {{/U}}mixing paints and scraping a palette clean. They're made from metal, plastic, or wood and{{U}} (4) {{/U}}either be completely straight or have a slightly bent handle. A painting knife has{{U}} (5) {{/U}}large crank in the handle, which takes your hand away from the painting surface. They{{U}} (6) {{/U}}in numerous shapes(for example pear-, diamond-, or trowel-shaped) and are used for painting{{U}} (7) {{/U}}of a brush. The edge of the knife is blunt, so that it doesn't cut the{{U}} (8) {{/U}}.
·What shape of painting knife should I use?
Different shaped painting knives produce different effects. For example, a short blade produces angular strokes{{U}} (9) {{/U}}a long blade makes it easy to put down sweeps of colour.
·Why can't I use a palette knife to paint with?
You can. Painting{{U}} (10) {{/U}}just have the advantage of coming in more angular shapes and with sharper points. And{{U}} (11) {{/U}}larger crank in the handle means there's less chance of rubbing your knuckles into wet{{U}} (12) {{/U}}. If you're unsure whether you're going to enjoy painting with a knife, first buy a{{U}} (13) {{/U}}, plastic palette knife and experiment a bit with this before upgrading to a wood-and-metal knife.
·How do I use painting knife?
{{U}} (14) {{/U}}the handle firmly so you're got good control. Pick up some paint off your palette{{U}} (15) {{/U}}the tip, as you'd pick up some butter with a knife. Use the side of the{{U}} (16) {{/U}}to spread paint across your canvas, or press it onto the canvas, as you{{U}} (17) {{/U}}spread butter across a slice of bread．It'll seem strange at first as it's quite{{U}} (18) {{/U}}to using a brush. Using just the tip of the blade will produce small dots.{{U}} (19) {{/U}}the edge of the knife down will produce fine lines. Pressing the blade flat down{{U}} (20) {{/U}}the paint will produce ridges. Scrape back into the paint to reveal underlying layers (called sgraffito).