58 http://www.artistsmagazine.com
don’t realize this. h ey may fail to play down
or lose certain edges, making them all sharp.
As a result, there’s no sense of space and
distance.
Analyzing the lost and found edges of a
scene is simple—just squint, and details will
drop away. Larger shapes, along with soft and
sharp edges, become clearer. You may fully
open your eyes to paint some detail, but don’t
forget what you saw when you squinted. h at’s
the secret. (See Wind Swept, opposite.)
Lines With a Knife
I don’t paint exclusively with a painting knife,
but I do i nd it to be a useful applicator. I
usually use it in the foreground areas of my
paintings. When I have need for the sharpest
and crispest of lines that I can possibly
achieve, such as for thin tree branches, I use
the side of the painting knife. When I wish
to paint over established colors, I can cleanly
and easily apply a new mixture of dif erent
colors with the knife, something I can’t do
with a brush. I also use the knife as a trowel
to apply thick paint, and I can scrape down
dried areas of the painting with the knife’s
edge, creating unique textures in the process.
Futhermore, a knife can be cleaned much
more easily than a brush. Just swipe the blade
with a paper towel!
One size and shape of painting knife
doesn’t i t all painters or all paintings. You’ll
just have to experiment to see what works best
for you. I will say, however, that a drop handle
knife allows me to work without touching my
hand into the wet paint.
Trying Plein Air
If most of your painting experience has been in
the studio, I urge you to apply that experience
BELOW: Lost andfound edges of thetree in Spring Mist(oil on linen, 20x24)not only add vari-ety but also allowthe foreground tomeld into the back-ground, which addsa sense of spaceand atmosphere tothe picture. Notealso how dramati-cally the opaquelypainted tree in theforeground standsout against thetransparent under-painting with itsvibrant colors andmuted edges.