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Material List Painting Knives: CNR 6810-28 – 2 ½” tapered tip, made it Italy Atrium 9 – 1 ½” tapered tip, made it Italy
Stretched Canvas: 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 Alizurum Chrimsom 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.
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Setting up outdoors: Equipment:
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! |
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Finished Painting
Fall Jewels 14” x 11” oil on canvas
***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.
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.”
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Creating excitement and texture with palette knives! by Carol Swinney The best expression of an artist’s creativity is ultimately an evolution of artistic interests and abilities. Many artists can look back to their youth and remember when they knew they wanted to be an artist or when they felt they had talent. Usually, after being encouraged by their parents, teachers or others, they began their long journey of creative discovery. We try many different mediums, tools, classes, workshops, etc. during the formative years in an attempt to determine what artistic pathway we will take. The path I chose, to become a palette knife painter, evolved slowly and purely by chance. In the early 1980’s I happened to visit a gallery displaying work by Bill Freeman, a well known, western, wildlife and landscape artist. I detected something exciting and different in his pieces and discovered that he had done all his work with a palette knife. Since Bill lived in Jackson Wyoming, my home state, I looked him up and inquired if I could study with him. He agreed and invited me to paint with him on location both at his Jackson home and in the desert areas around Scottsdale, Arizona. Since Bill painted exclusively with palette knives, this was the tool he expected me to use while painting with him. I remember watching him use the knife and became fascinated by the different knife strokes, the variety of interesting edges and the unusual effects he could achieve. I studied the way he was holding the knife, the way he pushed or pulled the paint around, and how lightly or heavily he pressed the knife to the canvas. My first experience with using the knife was to copy one of his paintings as closely as I could by examining his strokes and colors. This was difficult but I enjoyed the challenge and was encouraged enough to continue on with the knife. Looking back, I realize how long it has taken me to achieve good knife handling skills but also realize that it is a frustrating tool that I will always be trying to master. Becoming a palette knife painter and a “plein air” painter both happened at the same time as Bill and I always went out and painted landscapes on location. During this period, I met Greg McHuron, a well known landscape brush painter, and studied with him almost as much as with Bill. From Greg I attribute a lot of my design abilities, color sense and values. Both Bill and Greg started their work outdoors and if necessary, finished up in the studio. I painted so much on location that I couldn’t imagine, at that time, painting any other way. Today I paint less than half of my work in the studio and the rest is done from life, or en plein air. Most of my outdoor work is done in some of the most spectacular locations in the western United States. Finding a good painting location is usually no problem, however, simplifying the composition is a little more difficult. I usually sketch just the basic outlines of what I want to paint. The lines are only meant to guide me on the major shapes of my composition. The details appear later by the variation of edges and colors created by the knife. I usually spend no more than two hours painting on location. If I’m painting a large piece, I will go back the next day at the same time and try to finish it on location. More often than not I can get enough information during this time to complete the painting from memory in the studio, or wherever I find good outdoor light. I usually take reference photos for later use in the studio if more detail work is necessary. For me, one of the keys to mastering the knife is learning how to manipulate the paint with an infinite number of strokes to produce the desired effects. For example, certain elements of a painting such as water, rocks or trees require different approaches, from using a very light touch to pressing the knife heavily into the paint and moving it in a variety of ways. Another example would be, when painting the sky, without clouds, I use my 2 ½” knife and “scrub” the paint into the canvas in circular motions. I then blend the colors by taking the edge of the knife and scraping off most of the paint in an upward motion. This eliminates the texture but leaves the mixture of colors so it looks like real sky. In contrast, when painting the foreground, I apply the paint thick and form it with the edge and back of my knife. In order to create the illusion of the many different grasses, stems, leaves, and twigs, I use the tip of the knife to “draw” different strokes through the paint to make natural looking shapes. My objective is to use texture to give an authentic appearance to a particular object or area in my composition. In order to capture the most desirable lighting, painting on location requires a certain amount of speed. The knife works well for me as I am never washing brushes or worrying about muddy colors from residual grays left in a brush. I use a lot of paper towels to wipe my knife clean as it is important to me to always know exactly which colors are on my knife and I know I’m using the colors I intended to use. Sometimes it is necessary to scrape the paint off areas that have already been painted so the newly applied colors are not mixing with other colors underneath. The palette knife is a great tool for altering or adjusting incorrect areas in a painting quickly, therefore it is easier to make necessary corrections. I feel very fortunate today to have worked through many years of frustration along with hundreds of hours of practice to become proficient at painting with a knife. The palette knife technique is unique and has a bold, fresh look that sets itself apart from brush paintings. It has worked for me so well that I look forward to trying new subject matters, more impressionistic styles and different size knives with confidence! If you have the desire to paint with a palette knife you must be willing to work through your aggravations and the temptation to go back to your brush. If you dedicate yourself to painting with a knife, then you can achieve your own unique palette knife style with rich texture and colors. |
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Carol Swinney
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