For the last while I have been trying to develop a technique for using a palette knife.  There are all sorts of different shapes, sizes, and angles of palette knife.  When I used to do my camel landscapes I used palette knives almost exclusively for the application of the mixed media onto the canvas, but then it was a bit more like icing a cake.  Depending on the size of the canvas I would just smear on the medium with a knife that looked much like the spatula I would use to smear butter cream icing onto a cake.

I’m learning that creating a specific shape requires a little more finesse, and certain palette knives are more suitable for manipulating those shapes than others! I used the above 2 palette knives for this painting. The larger of the 2 is my favourite as it has a lovely flat edge on one side and a rounded edge on the other allowing you to create lovely shapes for flower petals.

In this study of tulips I used a palette knife for the application of the background and the flower heads and a brush for the leaves and stems as I wanted contrast and texture. It looks like I was able to capture the feel of the floppy stems and wide open flower heads of the fully opened flower  so specific to tulips, and I love the vibrant result and movement it created in the painting.