Painting with Paint Knives

Slice through your surface, cut your colours, chop and churn your piece in any way you desire when you use paint knives. Take your artistic opportunities above and beyond as they can be used with many techniques and give your art amazing effects that will astonish you. Add extra dazzle to your piece with the ultimate painter’s tool.

With paint knives, you can achieve easy to manage colour mixing and blending as well as being used in place of brushes to create striking textures and detailed line work. These crafty instruments are exciting and fast-paced while allowing you to express your bold ideas through vibrant effects and terrific techniques. Pair with oil paints or acrylics and this classic art tool will have you carving up a masterpiece.

Types of Paint Knives

Paint knives come in all shapes and sizes so it is important you understand the difference and between them and the jobs they do. They are an interesting and diverse apparatus with blades ranging in different lengths and shapes such as triangular, rectangular and diamond shape. At Reeves, our handy paint knife sets come with an assortment of metal painting knives with wooden handles that are strong yet have flexible blades which make them easily adaptable to many methods. With handles that ensure a firm grip and steel blades for vibrant and detailed effects, you won’t believe where paint knives can take you.

Small, blunt knives are fantastic little tools. Don’t be deceived, it’s a strong addition to your craft box. Perfect for mixing colours and applying them to your surface, the smaller knives are also ideal for achieving beautiful texture, patterns and detail.

Let your inspiration soar as wide as your paint knife. The larger shaped knives will amaze you with the different affects you can create. The larger, spatula type knives allow you to cover larger areas and spread your paint across your painting as if you are icing a cake.

The knives with the most pizazz are our longer, thinner knives. Use these knives to sever shapes into your piece and slash eye-catching textures. Dice, mince and incise like you are the surgeon and your surface is your operating table. Delve in and rend your piece using all edges, angles and flats of your knife to spread and mix your colours evenly. One swoosh of your knife can create incredible results.

With paint knives, you can let your creativity dominate the page as you slice across your surface with one of art’s most versatile and exhilarating tools – the tool with no rules! Paint knives give you the opportunity to adopt new techniques while your inspiration allows you to create new and original concepts. They give you a sense of freedom that motivates your crafty mind to run wild.

Paint Knife Techniques

Paint knives work best with oil and acrylic paints and there are many techniques you can learn to get the very best out of your paint knives. For both beginners and advanced artists alike, it is never too late to pick up new art skills or improve on the ones you already have. Becoming a paint knife specialist is simple with our helpful Reeves tips. Don’t be fearful – If you can spread butter on your toast then you’ve got this!

Once you have applied paint to your blade, it is time to set off in any direction you desire. The freedom that comes with using paint knives is thrilling and you will be amazed at how creative you can get with these nifty utensils.

Pressing your knife in certain ways can result in many different looks. Press the edge of your knife down onto you surface to produce fine lines – this is a great method for intricate details. You can also press the blade flat onto your piece to achieve ridges and sharp edges. Pushing the blade onto your surface after you have applied paint to it can give you beautiful texture.

As knives are often used for spreading, you too can use your paint knife just like you would with jam. Spread your paint across your surface as if you were adding clotted cream to a freshly baked scone and you will soon discover they are great for covering large areas and can even replace your old friend the paint brush.

Paint knives are also fantastic for our favourite art expressions such as dots. The tip of the blade can be used to create small dots which you can use to make up a pattern or achieve stunning effects.

Scrape back layers of paint to reveal what is underneath. Another great method that will make your painting pop.

Keeping your Knives Clean

One of the reasons artists tend to love working with paint knives is their easy maintenance. Applying paint to them is simple, you can even add multiple colours to a paint knife at one time. When it comes to the cleaning up job, it’s as easy as spreading butter! Simpler than its distant cousin the paint brush, all you need to do with your knives is wipe off the paint with a cloth until they are clean.

If there is dried paint on your knives, you can use a wet cloth or even another knife to scrape off the excess paint. Be mindful to clean your knives between applications to avoid mixing left over touches of previously used paint.

A Terrific Addition to your Craft Box

Paint knives are nothing to be afraid of, they are a thrilling choice of tool that will put you in the driver’s seat and lead you down a road of multicoloured swishes and vivid slices until you reach a sea of colour which you can change around, mash up and switch about any way you please.

At Reeves, we want to set your inspiration higher than ever before with the use of different tools and with paint knives your arty abilities and colourful imagination will go to unbelievable lengths. These tools are the frosting on the cake! So, put down those brushes and pick up the metal and let paint knives guide you straight into the limelight.