Palette knife painting has always been my passion although it took me a few decades to realize it. I had been painting with brushes for years when, during a demonstration, I applied some paint with a knife and felt a freedom and excitement about the technique I had never before realized. Although I am starting to use brushes again in my work, I have painted mostly with knives ever since that eureka moment. The knives provide a three dimensional quality to a painting which, combined with color and light, helps to create a lively result. My favorite subject matter is the natural environment: trees, fields, mountains, animals, lakes, and oceans.
The under-painting is applied in a thin sheen with the details of a piece applied with heavier texture. I generally use ten to fifteen different knives on a canvas, each knife providing a unique texture and effect. A painting must be finished the day it is started because the palette knife must be able to slide on the canvas rather than getting hung-up on partially dried paint. This technique requires using greater quantities of paint but the end result is fresh, and exciting.
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