Acrylic Knife Painting Tutorials
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Overview:
Things you should know about painting with a palette knife
10 acrylic knife painting tutorials for beginners
1. Acrylic sunset
2. Yellow bird
3. Dragon petals
4. Flower tree
5. Abstract
6. Aspen tree
7. Dog painting
8. Agate petals
9. Textured modern flower
10. Seascape
Palette knives aren’t just limited to mixing acrylic paints, they can also be used to create unique and textured effects. To inspire your next project, we’ve put together some acrylic knife painting tutorials for you to try at home!
Before you start
Before you start working through some of these acrylic palette knife painting ideas, you will need the following art supplies. You can purchase all these from Art to Art online or in-store.
- Palette knife and acrylic paint brush
- Canvas
Things you should know about painting with a palette knife
How do you paint with a palette knife
Painting with a palette knife is a lot easier than you may think. There’s three common ways people paint with a palette knife, including:
1. Loading up paint onto the palette knife then applying it to the canvas
2. Applying dots of paint straight onto the canvas from the paint tube and then spreading it out with a palette knife
3. Using the palette knife to scrape away layers of the paint to reveal the colours underneath and create interesting effects
Should I use a medium with a palette knife?
When it comes to using a tool like a palette knife, thicker paints (such as acrylic) are your go-to as they will keep their shape on the canvas. Paints such as watercolour and gouache aren’t suitable for this type of painting. To create an even thicker texture, many artists like to use mediums.
There are many different mediums to choose from, however, we recommend choosing from a heavy-bodied medium, like gel medium or a modelling paste to get the best results. To use your medium, simply mix it with your acrylic paint and this will allow your paint to maintain its texture.
How long does a palette knife painting take to dry?
Because palette knife paintings are generally a lot thicker compared to normal painting techniques, it can take anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks to dry.
Top tips for palette knife painting
Here are some of our top tips, before you start working through these ideas:
- Practise on a small canvas first to avoid wasting paint
- Use a variety of different-sized palette knives to achieve different effects
- Use a thicker paint, such as acrylic paint
- Experiment with different knife strokes, switching between long and short strokes
- You can still use a paintbrush if you need to add small details, blend edges or create a gradient
- Clean your palette knives straight after use, as paint can be hard to remove later
10 acrylic knife painting tutorials
1. Acrylic sunset
If you’re interested in landscape painting, then this is a great tutorial to attempt. Although this acrylic knife painting idea may seem difficult, it’s a super easy option for artists who have never worked with palette knives before.
How to do it:
- Gather all your colours together on a paint palette. You will need white, royal blue, sky blue, yellow, orange, black, and pink.
- Start by picking up some of the dark blue on your palette knife and dabbing it near the top right corner. Clean your knife and add some of the sky blue. Lastly, dab some yellow, orange, pink, and white in the lower left corner.
- Make sure to leave a thin strip at the bottom of your canvas for the water.
- Grab your palette knife again and begin spreading out the paint. You can go back in with the white paint to create smooth blending transitions.
- Continue blending until you have covered every part of the canvas, besides the strip down the bottom.
- Fill in the strip with dark and light blue paints.
- Using an acrylic paintbrush, paint on your trees using the black paint and you’re done!
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2. Yellow bird
For all the bird lovers out there, give this cute yellow bird painting a go. You can even get creative and customise the colour of the bird or the background - the choice is yours!
How to do it:
- Start by pouring some orange paint onto the canvas. Use a paintbrush to evenly cover the whole canvas and wait for this to dry.
- Optional: You can use a pencil to draw the outline of the bird and the branch.
- Using your palette knife, roughly mix together your light blue and white, apply this onto your canvas, and start spreading it around the top half of the bird.
- Grab your palette knife and paint on the branch using brown paint. Clean your knife and add on the leaves. Wait for this to dry.
- Grab your blue background paint and paint around the branch and the leaves.
- Paint on your bird using your chosen colours.
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3. Dragon petals
Not only is this acrylic palette knife painting fun to try out, but it also doubles as the perfect home decor. You can hang this up in any room and it's sure to make a statement! Plus, it’s also super easy for beginners.
How to do it:
- Start by choosing your colour palette. You can choose as many colours as you would like.
- All you need to do is grab a large dab of paint on your palette knife and apply your paint onto the canvas, representing the shape of a petal.
- To create an interesting pattern, adjust the angle at which you apply your paint petal.
- Continue working your way along the canvas, adding different coloured petals to create dimension.
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4. Flower tree
As you would have noticed in the last painting tutorial, palette knives are ideal for creating unique textures and effects (like petals!) This acrylic painting idea is worth a go if you’re interested in landscapes. It’s also suitable for artists of all levels.
How to do it:
- Start by picking out your favourite colours for the background and the petals, otherwise, you can follow along with the colour guide in the tutorial.
- Using a large paintbrush, pick up your first colour for the background and use criss cross motions to apply the paint. Then, dip your brush into your second colour and add it on the outside of your paint and use criss cross motions to blend the paint together, slowly covering the entire canvas. You can add as many different colours as you like in this step.
- Before the paint dries, grab your clean palette knife and create short strokes over the paint. This will result in a unique pattern for the tree to sit in front of.
- Grab your paintbrush and dip it into some brown paint. Begin carving out the shape of your tree trunk. To make the tree more seamless, use your palette knife and pick up yellow and orange paint, and add some to the left side of the trunk.
- Using your clean palette knife, pick up your yellow and white paint, and create your petals.
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5. Abstract
If you’re up for a challenge, then this is the perfect acrylic knife painting tutorial for you! This abstract painting only requires a small colour palette, so you may already have all the supplies at home! Plus, this makes for some great home decor to hang in any room.
How to do it:
- Star by dotting two drops of black paint, brown paint, and dark blue paint in a line, in the middle of your canvas.
- Use your palette knife to spread the paint out. You can move the paint in any direction you like, as long as the colours are somewhat blended together.
- Apply multiple dots of white paint on either side of your blended-out paint and start blending this in with the coloured paint, working your way outwards.
- You can use a dry paintbrush to spread your paint even further outwards on your canvas. Next, wait for the paint to almost dry.
- Grab some masking tape and evenly apply three long pieces vertically across the canvas.
- Using dark brown paint, cover the edge of the masking tape to create crisp lines. You can also use a fan brush to gently blend the paint lighter the further you go down the masking tape.
- Peel off your masking tape and voila, you're done!
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6. Aspen tree
If you’re a beginner to acrylic knife painting, then this aspen tree painting is a great place to start. Because it doesn’t require overly detailed trees and leaves, this can even be completed by younger artists.
How to do it:
- Apply some dark blue acrylic paint to the bottom of your canvas and begin blending this out. Before the dark blue paint dries, apply a strip of light blue paint next to your dark blue paint and begin blending this toward the top of the canvas.
- Allow your background to dry completely.
- Using an art pencil, draw on the outline of your trees.
- Dip your palette knife into white paint and fill in most of your trees. Leave some of the trees to fill in with the black paint. This will create some contrast. You can also create some black dots to create hollow holes in the trees.
- Grab some yellow and use your palette knife to dot on the tree leaves.
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7. Dog painting
Here's another painting for all the animal lovers out there. Once you have got the hang of this painting you can also use this technique to create different animals.
How to do it:
- Start by drawing the outline of your dog with an art pencil.
- Next, fill in the dog's ear with a light pale yellow colour. Add some different shades of darker yellow and light red paint to create some dimension. You can also add some brown to the left side of the ear to create a shadow and separating line for your ear.
- Fill in the dog's face with light yellow paint. Just make sure to leave space for the eye.
- Add some dimension using dark yellow, brown and red shades. Using white, fill in where the mouth, eye and nose will go. Then, use some black paint to complete the shapes.
- Apply light yellow paint to the neck and use shades of dark yellow and brown paint to create natural contours.
- Lastly, create a background gradient using black and dark blue, and you’re done!
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8. Agate petals
If you’re looking for something super easy and unique, then give this agate petal painting a try! This simple painting can be completed in under 30 minutes, and it makes for the perfect home decor too.
How to do it:
- You will need a number of palettes for this painting, as you will be creating multiple piles of blended paint.
- After you have chosen your favourite colours to blend, start creating your piles but don’t forget to add some gel medium. Just keep in mind that your separate piles should all contain some of the same colours, so they work seamlessly together on the canvas.
- Using your palette knife, grab a large amount of your blended paint and dab it onto your canvas.
- Continue dabbing small petals of paint until you have covered the whole canvas.
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9. Textured modern flower
If you haven’t noticed already, flowers are a popular subject when it comes to acrylic knife painting. If you’re loving this style, then why not try out this modern take on a textured flower painting?
How to do it:
- To create your background, start by applying a few small dots of white, pink, beige, and purple paint onto the canvas.
- Use your paintbrush to blend out the colours to cover the entire canvas.
- Wait for your canvas to dry completely.
- Starting with the dark purple paint, dot on the petals for your flowers using a paintbrush. You can create different-sized flowers as well!
- Next, paint on your rose buds and green leaves for the flowers.
- Using some modelling paste, mix the coloured paint into the paste in separate containers.
- Grab your palette knife with one of your mixed colours and create the outline for the flowers. Next, add the small bud in the middle using the yellow paint.
- Create the rest of your flowers and you’re done.
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10. Seascape
Create this stunning landscape piece using only a few colours and a palette knife. This seascape knife palette painting can create a serene environment for any room in your home.
How to do it:
- Mix some light blue paint and white paint together roughly. Using your palette knife, apply this to your canvas and spread it evenly across the top half of the canvas.
- Spread out some turquoise paint on the bottom half of the canvas to create the sea and spread some sky blue paint on top of this. Also, add some dark blue paint and white to create some waves in the ocean.
- Fill in your mountains with some brown paint and apply some light yellow paint for the sand.
- Create some contrast for the mountain using orange, black, and green paint.
- Next, create some rocks in the ocean and the sand, and apply the orange and black paint to create dimension.
- Paint on your sun and add some specs of yellow to represent the light hitting the water.
- Paint your palm trees using brown and black paint. And apply various shades of green to create the leaves.
- Lastly, add a small boat using white paint, and your masterpiece is complete!
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And that’s a wrap! We hope you’ve been inspired by our list of acrylic knife painting tutorials for you to try at home. Don’t forget to get all your art supplies from Art to Art online or in-store. We stock a wide selection of art supplies, from art mediums and paint brushes to art paper and more! Get free shipping over $100 when you shop online. Plus, same-day dispatch Australia-wide.
