Palette Knife Painting

I took a three hour workshop yesterday called "Rooster Pallette Knife Painting Workshop." We used acrylics and painted, not with a brush, but with a metal pallette knife! This is a techinque that was often used by Vincent Van Gogh.

Starry Night by Van Gogh - from Wikipedia

 

I'm not sure if "Starry Night" was done with a palette knife, but it certainly looks as if it could have been. Using a palette knife to paint is kind of like decorating a cake: you smear the paint onto the canvas with the underside of the knife.

So, here's my palette knife-painted rooster! It was a NEAT experience and I already bought supplies to do it again. By the way, there are parts of my rooster I love (like the colors in the main body - the green and yellow parts) and parts I didn't quite get right (like the tail is too large, the feet are too small, and the wattle should be curved - not pointed). But, overall, I'm happy with this project and can't wait to do another one!