Before I really got into painting, I figured the best, most professional, and most essential tool for the job was a paintbrush. And, I guess I wasn’t completely wrong. It’d be rather unusual to be an artist who doesn’t own a single brush. Still, just because brushes are the most common tools, does not mean that they are necessarily the best to use for each person.

Enter our friend, the palette knife. The palette knife comes in various sizes and can be used to smooth out a glob of paint onto the canvas, or create interesting textures. If it’s sharp enough, you can use the pointed end to scratch through layers of paint.

Keep in mind…tools don’t have to be bought. Revert back to your two-year-old self and just dip your hands in the paint and use your hands to create a masterpiece.

The most important thing to remember is to experiment. Don’t just use a paintbrush because you think that a palette knife is too hard to paint with. Speaking from experience, I’m glad that I was forced to try using a palette knife instead of exclusively using paintbrushes. Palette knives are now my favorite tool to use. So make sure to experiment, you’ll learn a lot by doing it!