QC Class Palette Knife
I plan to concentrate on palette knife work in the April 8 session. I will have two paintings that were executed primarily with palette knife:
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| "Sedona Cliffs", 9x12, oil, Karen Halbert |
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| "Kewala Winds", 5x7, oil, Karen Halbert |
And another painting I finished with Palette Knife touches:
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| "Return to the River", 16x20, oil on linen, Karen Halbert |
Here are two images of this Aspen Grove painting before I added the palette knife touches:
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| Palo Verde along an Arroyo (nearing completion), 8x10, oil, by Karen Halbert palette knife |
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| "Palo Verde along an Arroyo", nearing completion |
References:
Oil Painting with a Palette Knife by Powell. Oil-Painting-Techniques-Textures-Versatile on Amazon I will have the book with me.
I also want to mention the work of Julie Ford Oliver. She has a technique called fracturing that uses a special tool she designed, a small 'squeegee'. Similar tools can be purchased at a hardware store I am sure. Or perhaps the rubber tipped 'brushes' could work as well. I loved her demos using a palette knife as well when I took classes from her many years ago. Have a look at her blog. Here's one post with some valuable information about note taking with another painting: juliefordoliver.blogspot.com post. And here's a link to a description of the tools she uses in her fracturing technique: Fracturing tools along with a $15 video on the technique.
And here's a recent painting she posted:
I also want to mention the work of Julie Ford Oliver. She has a technique called fracturing that uses a special tool she designed, a small 'squeegee'. Similar tools can be purchased at a hardware store I am sure. Or perhaps the rubber tipped 'brushes' could work as well. I loved her demos using a palette knife as well when I took classes from her many years ago. Have a look at her blog. Here's one post with some valuable information about note taking with another painting: juliefordoliver.blogspot.com post. And here's a link to a description of the tools she uses in her fracturing technique: Fracturing tools along with a $15 video on the technique.
And here's a recent painting she posted:
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| "Roses" by Julie Ford Oliver |
Palette Knife Paintings by Carol Swinney and Barbara Millineux, both local artists and both with valuable information on their websites.
Carol will be a field artist at the Plein Air Convention in Tucson (April 15-19, 2016) and I will be taking advantage of her expertise. I expect Barbara to be there also as she helped the convention choose their painting locations.
http://barbaramulleneaux.com Wonderful and colorful palette knife paintings. You can see some of her work at the Tohono Chul park:
Blog post by Mulleneaux on choosing colors:http://barbaramulleneaux.com/blog/96618/how-do-you-choose-your-colors
Sample Paintings by Mulleneaux:
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| Palette knife painting by Barbara Mulleneaux |
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| Palette knife painting by Barbara Mulleneaux |
How do you choose your colors?
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| Painting by Barbara Mulleneaux |
How do you choose your colors? This is a question I hear all the time! The truth is that I have a very limited, but "high key" pallet. The first decision I make when beginning a painting is the color scheme. Do I want to evoke a serene, quiet painting? Will it be dynamic and full of energy? What time of the day is it? What time of the year is it? What is the most important light element? There are a myriad of questions that need to be addressed.
During the plein air process, many artists will strive to "paint exactly what they see" and sometimes that makes a great image if God put all the pieces in the right places and the art elements line up to perfection. Well, how often does that happen? So when I realized that my paintings were boring, even to me, I knew things had to change. I started rearranging trees and shifted mountains (just a little, mostly). I added a lively pthalo red rose and switched up my blue to a vibrant cobalt. Then I perked things up with a sassy yellow green and kicky yellow orange. These are in addition to my standard pallet-- the usual cast of characters: cad red, french ultramarine, a dioxazine purple, yellows and occasional others. At the end of the day, it gets down to "whatever it takes to get the job done". BUT, I stay reverent to the VALUES! If it doesn't work in grey scale, fix the values.
Color, I have learned, is useless if it isn't applied properly. Harley Brown says it doesn't matter what color you use; if the value is correct, the painting will work! There are so many techniques one can use to create interesting color without being kitschy. It just requires a need to experiment and time to do it.
The studio gives me more thinking time. I can use a plein air study and photograph to help me get a great composition and set the colors to music. Literally. I love to listen while I work; and sing, though not well. Once the decisions are made, the magic of the pallet knife takes over. The knife helps keep colors separated (so important), offers delightful texture and is like sculpting-- sometimes you get something different from what you intended and it is a thrill. It was in this way I developed my current painting style (that's another blog).
So the answer isn't quite so direct as the question. If you seek the essential color rather than literal by meticulous study of the subject before painting it, the colors will reveal themselves. In the beginning, you may want to separate all the pieces and do just a tree or a plant or the clouds, rather than the whole vista. The small study has a big payoff. It may take time. Place warm and cool sided by side; place different colors of all one value together and stand back; use your color wheel and create your own with the colors you use. Be brave. Be bold. Be free. You are an artist!
http://www.carolswinney.com See her website for sample paintings; wonderfully executed. Here's one image I found in a press release:
See the tab, Online Workshop for these techniques and materials which I have copied here with her permission:
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| "Palo Verde" by Carol Swinney |
See the tab, Online Workshop for these techniques and materials which I have copied here with her permission:
Carol Swinney's Palette Knife Technique
After lightly sketching my basic composition, I mix several piles of background and hillside colors. (See Materials List for more info on paints.) I then start applying the shadowed areas of the background with loose broad strokes using mostly shades of dark lavenders and then working my values forward with grayed greens.
It is important that the white canvas doesn’t show through and that my design and colors are correct so far. I want to be satisfied with my background at this point as it will be difficult to make changes after the foreground trees are added.
I then paint the sun-lit areas of the foreground trees in upper left of painting while working the darks of the trees and then add the branches, keeping my strokes long and broad using a variety of green and grey tones.
Once I’m finished with the background, my next step is to start creating the foreground foliage and fireweed. I mix several piles of colors that will be needed for the entire foreground so that I can grab a variety of colors to make the hillside look natural with some of it in the sunlight and the rest in the shade. I always start with the highest value where the sun is the lightest and then work the nest darker colors on top. This way I'm not having to add the lightest colors on top of thick darker colors and the white canvas shows underneath to give the right sunlit look that I am looking for.
My next step is to start blocking in the aspen trees. Again, I have made piles of colors I know I will use in the trees from the shaded edges to the lightest areas. I keep working on developing the branches of the trees with the tip of the knife. I then add a few leaves still hanging on before they drop to carry the yellow/orange colors into the darker background colors.
My final touches are adding the brilliant deep red hues to the fireweed plants and little individual leaves of plants in the sunlight as well as adjusting the aspen tree branches or adding more. This was a quick draw painting so I was working from a photo and had just an hour to complete the painting. If this was a plein air piece, I would have been able to take a little more time on the details but would have still moved very fast to catch the fast moving light changes.
Don't be afraid to scrape out areas you are not happy with and repaint them. If you are going to add trees after you have painted the background, like I did in this painting, then I would scrape the paint off in that area being careful not to take off too wide an area. I don't want to have to re-mix and add paint back so it is better to scrape of a smaller width of the tree and adjust if you need to. Also don't be afraid to use all surfaces and edges of your knife to achieve different effects. Also, be aware of the amount of pressure you are using especially when adding new paint onto a thickly painted area-go very lightly so you don't end up "pulling" the paint from underneath.
I hope this little demo helps you with learning more about painting with a palette knife!
Painting consistency is vital to knife work.Mix several piles of colors to use in a particular area. Don’t always mix colors completely for interesting variations. You can also grab a variety of colors on the tip, edge or back of your knife to produce interesting “accidentals.” Learn how to use all areas of the knife blade to achieve an infinite number of great painting effects. Remember, if you don’t like how it looks, scrape the paint off and try it other ways until you get the look you want. Don’t be afraid to use little specks of color straight from the tube in dark areas to make them “sparkle.”
I always have two whites on my palette. The importance of using two brands of white is one should be a “buttery” white and the other a stiffer white (I always use Grumbacher Original Formula). I can mix either of these with various colors to achieve the texture I need for a particular area. For example, realistic foreground foliage and moving water can be achieved easier with a stiffer white that holds points and thick edges. If I’m trying to “drag” color over the top edges or points of wet paint, I use my buttery white. This can result in nice, broken color areas that look like foliage, frothy water, rock color variations, etc.
Carol Swinney's Material List
CNR 6810-28 – 2 ½” tapered tip, made it Italy. (I found this on Amazon.)
Atrium 9 – 1 ½” tapered tip, made it Italy (seems not be be made available)
Stretched Canvas:
(note that she uses cotton canvas rather than panels. we will discuss this.)
Dick Blick Brand
Utrecht Brand
Vincent Masterwrap by Masterpiece, 12oz Cotton
Pintura, Cotton 100% Medium Grain, Made in Italy
Oil Paint:
Titanium White ***
(Windsor Newton, Rembrandt Mixed White & Grumbacher Original Formula)
Grumbacher Burnt Umber
Grumbacher Cerulean Blue Hue
Grumbacher Cobolt Blue
Grumbacher Yellow Ochre
Grumbacher French Ultramarine Blue
Grumbacher Raw Umber
Grumbacher Thalo Yellow Green
Windsor Newton Cadmium Yellow
Windsor Newton Cadmium Orange
Windsor Newton Light Red
Windsor Newton Mars Violet Deep
Occasionally I will use:
Grumbacher Sap Green,
Windsor Newton
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Any brand of Mars Violet and Mars Violet Deep that works.
No mediums or turpentine or other solvents are needed.
