Drawing Completed
I wanted to do something completely different, this little painting was an exercise in using the palette knife. After completing the drawing, I traced it onto a prepared canvas.
Outline Painted On Canvas
This technique of tracing image that I have drawn was something that I learnt from my dear friend and art tutor, previous to this I used to grid my canvas and redraw the image. This was tedious and time-consuming, at least tracing it left the canvas with no other lines than the subject to be painted. I then painted over the outline so as not lose the detail in the drawing.
Background Painted
I mixed a colour using white, blues and a touch of black. I blocked this in with a paintbrush, I just needed a basic underpainting at this point.
Under Painting Completed
After mixing basic colours for the Robin, I loosely painted the complete bird, adding tones of colour where needed. This is part of the process I use to give me an idea for when I am using the palette knife.
Painting Completed
Mixing colours for the Robin was the next step, including tones of colour, each of these needed to be plentiful for the painting. The process of using the palette knife is applying colour carefully but thinking where your next stroke of the palate knife will be so as not smudge the previous one. Thankfully my easel rotates and I can get the angle needed, nothing replicates the human wrist but with the easel and my palette knife rotating I can achieve the strokes of paint needed.
Robin Painted By Palette Knife Completed
I enjoy the challenge painting with a palette knife, the different techniques required are technical in places but very worthwhile in my opinion. I hope you enjoyed the different processes of this painting and the completed painting.