Palette knife painting

The painting knife, or palette knife, as it is often called, has been a part of painter's tools for many centuries. Originally, it wasn't used to apply paint or to produce impastos but to mix pigments, to superimpose one layer of paint over another to modify it appearance or to remove excess paint from the canvas. Consisting of a curved handle and a flexible steel blade, its shape is comparable to that of a small trowel. It was during the Renaissance that the palette knife began to be used for something other than its original purpose and that artists started to use it to paint. Before that, painters sought to create a realistic and therefore smooth result. But artists such as Rembrandt, Titian or Fragonard noticed that scraping paint to create impasto helped to create eye-catching texture, relief and light.

Gustave Courbet is well-known for having brought palette knives back into fashion in the 19th century, a pivotal period when the art of painting, and art in general, underwent many changes and transformations. He was followed by the Impressionists and the modern painters (Monet, Van Gogh, Turner, etc) who used it to create thick impastos. Impressionists were particularly keen on this tool which was well-suited to the way in which they sought to represent light realistically, as our eyes see it. The invention of the easel and paint tubes allowed them to leave their workshops and to paint outside, enabling them to depict the shimmering reflections of water and the ever changing nature. They applied paint quickly in small thin strokes on the canvas and created texture using the knife. To create this effect, they used oil paint and acrylic, working them as little as possible so as to ensure their thick, dense appearance.

On Artsper, find works by Aude Herlédan and Judith HM, amongst others who have transcribed the use of the palette knife in unique ways in their contemporary practice!

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Palette knife painting

La tornade rose

Enlacés

La marée monte

Paysage vert

Grande texture couteau bleue irisée

Matrice or verte

Sailboats on the lake

Suspension Rouge -X2

Le penseur

Calme au crépuscule

Les montagnes

Comme un printemps III

Autumn queen

Éclat concentrique bleu clair

Éclat concentrique doré spirituel

Éclat concentrique iridescent

Éclat concentrique vert émeraude

Éclat concentrique doré

Addio del giorno

Addio del giorno

Tobacco

Tuscany landscape. Italian city

Rocks in the lake. Landscape

Garden flowers

Harbor in Morning Mist

Dramatic Ocean power

Abstract flowers in a vase on black

Greeting sunset

Dog driver

Mediterranean Harbor

Woman by the ocean

Romantic dreams

Romantic dreams

Woman with umbrella in a rainy city

Fondu rosé

Quart d’éclat violacé

Fondu violacé

Snoopy pensif

Force et douceur

Campi magnetici di luce

Lo scorrere del tempo

Le chat rose

Abbraccio cosmico

Arcipelago

Lo Scoglio

Riflesso di celo

Grande texture couteau brasillante

Grande texture couteau chaleureuse

Grande texture couteau bleue

Matrice brasillante

Parisian roofs

Gold coffee cup

Memory Lane

Sailboat on the lake

Night cafe by the highway

Sailboat on the lake.

Primavera 4.1.23

Winter Dawn

Spring

The Door

Forêt de bouleaux en rose

Somewhere

Evasion / Escape

Abysses - N°10, Les vagues de couleur N°19

Abysses - N°9, Les vagues de couleur N°18

Abysses - N°8, Les vagues de couleur N°17