Using the palette knife.

I've seen a lot of comments lately from people who want to see more tutorials on using the palette knife. I have about 7 different palette knives but in the last few years, I've only used 3 of them. The one I use the most is a size 6 which is thin with kind of an oval shape. For painting sharp edges or corners, I use my flat one. I use a large one for bigger paintings to cover larger areas faster.
I like using palette knives for quite a few different reasons. For one thing, they are very easy to clean because all you have to do is wipe it off as opposed to a brush which has to be swirled around in thinner and wiped with a towel. Not really a big deal but it can get a little sloppy and you have to make sure you do it or the paint can dry in the hairs of the brush.
Another reason for using a palette knife is that it doesn't over-mix easily when you add it on top of another color, unless you want it to. Also, there are many different ways you can move the knife around to get different effects. You can use the edge of it to paint some really skinny lines and you can also scrape thin lines of paint off to make distant trees or something similar to that.
I also think it's easier to blend colors with a knife. I takes a little practice but it won't take long before it becomes second nature. Blending is done by holding the knife with or without paint, parallel to the surface and moving it back and forth or in circular motions it to mix two or more colors together.
It's not like I don't like using a brush, but both the palette knife and the brush have their good points. There's not much a brush can do that a knife can't.
Below are some videos where I'm showing some techniques for using the palette knife.

This is the first post of this blog.

My name is Bob Kimball.
I'm making this blog with the processes of making art in mind. I want to share my experiences with art in all aspects I can think of, including the making of art of any kind, the marketing of art and the promoting of art and anything else I can think of.
This blog is open to comments and posts to those of you who would like to share your knowledge and experiences with art making and marketing...basically anything that will contribute to the betterment of artists trying to get better.

Welcome and happy commenting..