A palette knife as a painting tool is a new concept for me. I had never used my palette knife for anything more than clean-up and for scraping goop (my paint medium) from the jar. That is until I spent a Saturday with regional artist Derec Roache.  Derec is known mainly for his impressionistic, perhaps abstract, landscapes. His use of bold color is remarkable.  Derec hosts oil painting workshops from time to time, so I decided to sign up and give it a try.  There were approximately 6-8 students watching Derec’s palette knife demonstrations.  We each created our own paintings by replicating his style and using his frequent suggestions.  It’s a great way to learn by example.

This workshop was especially challenging for me since I had no experience with a palette knife.  Compared to a brush it has a completely different feel and certainly a different end result.  I was consistently tempted to brush on the strokes but by the end of the day I had learned a new technique.  The rich, unique texture seems to be the most noticeable benefit.

I left with this painting at the end of the day.  Yes, it’s mine, not Derec’s.