Another Painting Knife Work

WFMartin

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I painted this with a painting knife, and followed a reference photo. It is not my best piece, but I enjoyed painting it.
Night_Moments_Final.jpg

"Night Moments"....Oil on RayMar Canvas Panel
 
darks are to uni color for my taste but it works .. I'm sure the camera has something to do with it.
 
Looks good Bill, and yes, it does feel good to step outside of our comfort zone from time to time. (y) :giggle:
 
I agree. It's a good piece. I don't think it's overworked at all. I like the darks.
 
I've noticed you have a penchant for night scenes of late. I agree with you and Margaret that it's good to move out of your comfort zone and see what happens.
 
I like it, for the colors that contrast (that is, the beginning and end of the painting) and the figures, how you manage to make the two figures stand out, how you created them is beautiful.
 
Thank you, all, for your kind comments. Once in awhile I enjoy doing something a bit different, and I find that this approach works the best with cityscapes. Not exactly sure just why, but perhaps it is because of the straight lines that abound in "cityscapes". That could be it. :)
 
I only used a palette knife once in a painting... and I hated it. It was an assigned painting. We weren't allowed to use a brush at all... only the palette knife. Accck! The painting was to be abstract. Accck! Acccck! And finally, the color palette was limited to a dominant single color with a compliment limited to less than 10% of the canvas. Acccck! Acccck! Acccck!😫 I ended up getting the best grade on this painting that I had earned all semester.😖😄 The closest I have gotten to the palette knife since has been the use of sandpaper to create a weathered surface and reveal subsequent layers of paint.
 
I only used a palette knife once in a painting... and I hated it. It was an assigned painting. We weren't allowed to use a brush at all... only the palette knife. Accck! The painting was to be abstract. Accck! Acccck! And finally, the color palette was limited to a dominant single color with a compliment limited to less than 10% of the canvas. Acccck! Acccck! Acccck!😫 I ended up getting the best grade on this painting that I had earned all semester.😖😄 The closest I have gotten to the palette knife since has been the use of sandpaper to create a weathered surface and reveal subsequent layers of paint.

Hahaha......That is pretty funny! Palette knife is not my favorite way to paint, either, actually. I discovered that it requires a lot more paint than if I painted with a brush. I usually rough my painting in with a brush, and then go over it with a palette (painting) knife, just to make it appear that is is a spontaneous painting knife work. Cheating? Yeah, maybe.

I really enjoy your explanations, with the "acccck's" as emphasis! :ROFLMAO: And, I understand, totally, what your feelings were in doing that assignment.
 
I usually rough my painting in with a brush, and then go over it with a palette (painting) knife, just to make it appear that is is a spontaneous painting knife work. Cheating? Yeah, maybe.

Not "cheating". Degas responded to a critic who praised the spontaneousness of his paintings/pastels by stating: "No one is less spontaneous than me. What you see as spontaneous brush-strokes and pastel marks is the product of the last 5 minutes of the painting." This painting is the greatest example of a few rapid brush strokes at the end of the painting resulting in an image that looks more spontaneous and daring:

Sistine-Chapel-detail-Creation-of-sun-moon-planets-Michelangelo.jpeg


Michelangelo was dissatisfied with the soft rendering of Gods hair as he roared through the heavens so he applied a few bold brush strokes to make the image more dynamic and suggestive of the air wooshing through his hair.
 
There is no cheating but certainly lying .. why would you mislead people when knife and brush would be the proper explanation of technique.
 
Like magic, art involves a great deal of illusion. No need to share all the tricks with the audience.
 
Gosh, I've never lied about anything related to my methods--especially when someone questions me regarding how I may have accomplished some, particular effect. I am an ex-teacher of painting, for heaven's sake!! One reason I offer my explanations freely is that most painters wouldn't approach it that way themselves, even if I inform them of my methods. Case in point: One artist asked me how I applied the paint in order to achieve such a smooth surface, without any canvas weave apparent. When I told that person that I sometimes apply as many as 9 coats of acrylic primer prior to painting, sanding after every 3 coats, and that it wasn't related to "paint application" at all, she said that she would never go to so much "trouble". I never feel threatened by offering my methods freely. Why? Because they likely won't do it anyway!🤣

Oh, but, ....perhaps I misunderstood. While I may have "roughed-in" my painting with a brush, by the time I have completed my painting with a painting knife, there is no evidence of the brush application, whatsoever. So, in that respect, there is no "deceiving", or "lying" on my part, whatsoever, because the painting that the viewer sees has NOT been created by two different methods. The painting that the public sees is totally accomplished with a painting knife. But, then, I'm not sure the viewing public much gives a damn how the painting has been accomplished, as long as they like it.
 
I really like this painting, I like the rich contrast and as someone who loves knives, I appreciate the way this is painted
 
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