Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Loading Up With Paint...

Lemon with Cherries, oil on 5 x 7 canvas
The painting knife is pretty great for loading up the paint to a surface. It often makes me think me think of the juicy texture involved with the process of icing a cake. While both are wonderful, of course we eat cake and paint a canvas. That said, there is a certain excitement that naturally goes with loading my painting knife with buttery paint, and moving it about the surface of my panel or canvas. It takes me to another place where control sort of goes hand in hand with a level of abandonment. :)
I look for shapes, light and dark patterns, keeping values in mind as they work with painterly applications of color. Once I get past the initial layer or two, there is a point where the acceptance of more paint just comes into play. Lemon with Cherries is an example of painting knife work and is my post for Day 14 of Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge.
 
Along with brushes, rags and medium, I have a good supply of knives equipped with pointed tips, or shapes; some for spreading, and others that I use just because they help me cover large areas of canvas quickly with a mother color - like those I might use for greens in a landscape. My favorite knives have great flexibility and give nicely so I can apply paint, scrap it away in places, and push it into the surface to model or sculpt at will. Fun things...



Painting with knives offers various techniques. The following images show a few paintings I've worked using knives. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Painting! 


Being, Rocks and Water, Plein Air, oil on 8 x 10 canvas

November Morning, Plein Air, oil on 8 x 8 canvas
 
Grapes with Sunlight, oil on 7 x 5 canvas



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