Techniques | Under the [Palette] Knife (Palette Knife)

Getting gestural with it.

OVERVIEW

This two-hour workshop provides a highly textural and liberating introduction to painting with palette knives in lieu of brushes.

Participants will learn how to leverage the palette knife's unique shape to achieve expressive effects, focusing on impasto—the thick, heavy application of paint. The session will cover how to use the knife blade to mix colors directly on the canvas, create dramatic straight edges and planes of color, and build up sculptural texture that captures light and shadow. Students will leave the class with a dynamic, dimensional, and tactile artwork, mastering a technique that adds immediate depth and energy to any composition.

Painterly Original works will be provided to fuel the creative process and stoke the imagination. No experience or artistic skill required!

PRICING

All classes are $120 per canvas with a ten (10) student class minimum.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to counteract the age of disposable experiences by teaching genuine creative skills. Painterly’s framework promotes the creation of keepsake artwork that carries lasting personal value, rather than becoming clutter. In a world where art is often mass-produced or prohibitively expensive, we offer an affordable and intentional pathway for our students to create their own meaningful, display-worthy creations rooted in solid artistic foundations.

For a long time through the history of art, palette knives were merely used to mix paint or apply paint on a canvas in an isolated manner; to do otherwise, was deemed blasphemy in the eyes of Renaissance masters. However, the Impressionism art movement challenged traditional painting norms and methods—including the use of mixing tools to apply paint to a canvas—bringing to life whole new way to represent the world on a canvas.
In this class we’ll introduce some common palette knife methods used throughout time, including line making, pressing, blending, sgraffito, scumbling, impasto, and more.
Gustave Courbet is often credited with popularizing palette knife painting through his landscapes. However, other popular palette knife painters include Cezanne, Pissaro, Chagall, Van Gogh, Willem de Kooning, Bob Ross, Joan Mitchell, and more.
- Guided group demonstration
- Personalized instruction
- Premium 12 x 16 gallery wrap canvas
- Workshop guide
- Shared class supplies (aprons, brushes, paints, palette knives, etc.)
- Fresh, frameable art compositions
- Deeper understanding of art history
AGES | All ages welcome but 13+ is recommended to benefit the most from instruction.
PREREQUISITE | None. No prior artistic skill required, either.
ARRIVAL | Please allow an extra 15-30 minutes for mingling to ensure you are settled when instruction begins.
ATTIRE | Heavy-duty canvas aprons are provided for class, but because accidents happen sometimes, we do recommend wearing clothes that you don’t mind getting a tad messy.
TO BOOK | Click below to book a painting event at the location of your choice. Once your booking is confirmed, a 50% non-refundable deposit is required to secure your event.
RESCHEDULING | Hosts may request a one-time calendar postponement by contacting us at events@painterly.co at least seven (7) full days prior to the event. Approved transfers are subject to a $150 administrative rescheduling fee, and the new date must fall within six months of the original block, subject to calendar availability.
CANCELLATION POLICY | To create an exceptional experience for your group, we begin preparing for your event the moment it’s booked. Because our experiences require dedicated artist scheduling, custom material procurement, and precise regional travel logistics, the initial 50% deposit is non-refundable.
If your event needs to be cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled date (after the final balance has been settled), please note that all processed fees are non-refundable. This helps us ensure our working artists and local vendors are still compensated for the time and materials already dedicated to your event.