156 Using palette knives

This painting was painted entirely with palette knives from a plein air sketch I did several years ago. Many people assume I use palette knives when I'm actually loading the brush and using a bristle flat almost like a palette knife. I hold the brush nearly parallel to the canvas. The look is very similar except that brushes impart the texture of the bristles.

So I thought why not just use palette knives since they are easy to clean and easy to transport. I think using knives is an especially good idea when working in the field. It gives a fresh, clean look and it's easy to maintain basic shapes with crisp lines.

Brad Teare February 2014