Why I Paint With a Palette Knife

People are often surprised to learn that I rarely use a brush. Nearly every painting in my studio is made with a palette knife.

How I found the palette knife

I taught myself to paint about twenty years ago, back when I was in nursing school, through a lot of experimenting and a lot of happy accidents. The palette knife felt freeing from the very beginning. It let me stop overthinking and simply move the paint.

What a palette knife does that a brush cannot

A brush spreads paint. A knife sculpts it. With one press I can lay down a petal, and with a twist of the wrist I can pull a ridge of color that catches the light. Colors sit side by side instead of blending into mud, so each stroke stays bright and clear.

Every stroke is a decision

Palette knife work has a kind of honesty to it. You cannot hide a stroke, and you cannot fully take it back. That is part of what I love. Each painting holds the energy of the moment it was made, sometimes calm and soft, sometimes wild and full of color.

Find a piece that speaks to you

If you love texture and color, take a look at my textured wall art or my pink abstract paintings. And if you are dreaming of something made just for your space, I would love to talk about a commission.

With love,
Shalimar