It's a Beet

6"x6" oil on 1-1/4" deep gallery-wrapped canvas

Palette Knife Painting

My mother-in-law cans pickled beets each year.  They are the best ever!  This year they were a little small but were still great for canning.  As I was finishing this painting I realized this beet sorta looked like a radish.  Even though most of this year's beets were small, maybe I should have painted it a little fatter.  Now I'm thinking I will go to the store & buy some radishes & paint them.  Hopefully, they won't look like beets.
-Sarah

Vine Ripe

6"x6" Oil on 1-1/4" deep Gallery-wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

Every year we try to raise tomatoes but seldom have good luck.  This year we raised them in large containers.  Most of them were small but the flavor was fantastic.  This was my first attempt to paint a tomato with the palette knife.  I was so afraid it might end up looking like an apple.  I think this one looks pretty juicy & ripe.  Just a little something to remember the taste of those good homegrown vine-ripe tomatoes.  Enjoy.
-Sarah

Call It A Day

8"x8" Oil on Panel

Palette Knife Painting

On a recent visit to Lake Maumelle, I watched as many of the sailboats started coming in at the end of the day.    I'm finding that sailboats are fun to paint with the palette knife.  I will definitely be doing more of them in the future. 
This week I am very excited to be in Charleston, SC for a workshop.  I will share more information next week when I return. 
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Yellow Sail

6"x8" Oil on Panel

Palette Knife Painting

We are truly blessed here in Arkansas to have so many clean, beautiful lakes.  One of the nearby lakes is enjoyed by sailboat enthusiasts.  On a recent visit, I was amazed at the number of boats.  Most of them were white with white sails.  Since I decided I wanted more color in the painting, I chose to add some yellow.  If you are interested in this painting, please email me.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

No. 1 Coffee Cup

5"x7" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

Framing Example

I bought this coffee cup several years ago and love it because of it's size & shape.  It holds more than a regular size cup of coffee & is tall with a wide mouth making it perfect for a cup of cappuccino.  I've been intending to paint it ever since I bought it.  I guess it's been waiting all this time for the palette knife to do the job.
If you are interesting in this painting framed or unframed, please email me for details.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

First Pear

5"x7" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 plus Shipping

Framing example

Since it seems like every artist paints pears at one time or another, I decided to try it with the palette knife.  I love bright colors & this seemed to be a great subject to use them on.
If you are interested in this painting & would possibly like the framed version, please email me for details. 
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Arles Blue

7"x14" Oil on Wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

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Arles, France is an ancient town established by the Greeks in 6th Century BC.  It's on the Rhone River which has made it an important port throughout it's history.  It was here where Vincent Van Gogh produced over 200 of his paintings during a 15 month period.  None of his paintings sold.  It was also in Arles where he lived in the famous yellow house (destroyed in World War II) and also where he cut off his ear.
This painting is from a photo I took on the streets of Arles.  Many spots where Vincent painted are marked throughout the city.  Arles has many other interesting attractions and is a great place to visit.
Thank you for taking a look at my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Showing Out

6"x8" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

These 3 pots of flowers are in full bloom & must be very proud to show off their colorful good looks.
It's too bad they won't last much longer since fall & cooler weather has already arrived here in central Arkansas.  I have already purchased some colorful mums and pansies for their replacement. 
Thank you for taking a look at my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Old Turquoise Door

8"x10" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

Framing example

I enjoy painting old doors & windows that are decorated with flowers, especially those in Italy and France.  The sun was hitting this one just right to show off the beautiful color variations of blue & green.  If you are interested in this painting, please email me.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Mid-evil Shed

 6"x8" Oil on Panel

Framing example

Mid-evil buildings always seem to have lots of nooks & cranies that are most likely used this day & time for storage.  They never seem out of place.  They just blend in with the rest of the houses & buildings.  Gee I bet I could make a cute little apartment out of this one.  Yeah, it's nice to dream, especially about France.

Thank you for taking a look at my palette knife paintings.

-Sarah

Monday's Bouquet

5"x7" Oil on Panel

Palette Knife Painting

Framing example

As long as I can remember, I have never liked Monday's.  I think it's just a mental thing.  Anyway, I do all the things I don't like to do on Monday's since I don't like them anyway.  I always work on Monday's. I pay bills, give the dog a bath, & do any other chore I don't particularly care for.  I keep tellling myself that it's really stupid to think this way, even though I really do get a lot done on Mondays.  However, today I decided to do at least one thing I like.  Since I love to paint I decided to try some different strokes with the palette knife & see if my Monday could possibly be a good one.  The results was this small painting which I decided to name "Monday's Bouquet."  So here's a bouquet of flowers for your Monday.  I hope it's a good one.
Happy Monday,
Sarah

Hydrangeas

6"x8" Oil on Panel
Palette Knife Painting

Hydrangeas - one of my favorite old -fashion shrubs.  They require very little care & often surprise you with a mixture of colors on one bush.  My neighbor's hydrangeas were no exception this year.  They really put on a show.  Since they don't last forever, I tried to capture them on canvas.
Thank you for taking a look at my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Improved strokework for Little French Mailbox

I got up eary this morning still thinking about that grape vine from yesterday's post.  I didn't have a lot of time before going to work but I think I made a significant improvement in the way to paint the foilage.  It takes just a deliberate but light touch with the paint loaded on just the tip of the palette knife.
Now I can go on to my next challenge.
-Sarah

Little French Mailbox

6"x8" Oil on Panel

Palette Knife Painting

I painted this little mailbox on location in watercolor while in France and decided to try it with the palette knife.  Whew!  It took me 3 times as long!  I had a problem with the grapevine foliage.  I'm going to keep working on this.  I know I can improve my stroke work.  I'll try to stop fiddling so much.
Thank you for taking a look at my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Winery Door

9"x12" Oil on Panel

Palette Knife Painting

Just use your imagination to guess what may be behind the large heavy door on the winery grounds.  In Italy there are many mysteries and discoveries to be made.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Door With Blue Pots

8"x10" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

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I ran across this old door that had obviously been painted many times throughout the years.  Some of the previous coats of paint were showing through.  It was certainly not a perfect paint job but I liked the old door just the same.  More and more I'm realizing that nothing much is really perfect, especially material things.  Before we moved into our new house, I almost threw out a canister set that was chipped. One jar even had a broken lid.  It was the last gift that my parents had given me before my dad passed away.  When I unpacked it I thought about how I had enjoyed the canister set & how bad I felt when I accidentally dropped it & damaged it.  I took a good look at it & though it wasn't perfect, I just couldn't bring myself to discard it.  I got out some super glue & a little craft paint & repaired it the best I could.  It now sits proudly on my new counter top.  To me, it looks like it belongs there.  Like the old door in the painting, it serves it purpose & it's doing it's job.  That's perfect enough for me. 
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Remember Me

Cella di San Francesco

6"x8" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

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While visiting a peaceful monestary in Tuscany I did a quick sketch of this large old stump that had obviously rotted from the inside out but had been wired back together to preserve as much of it as possible.  Overlooking a hillside of olive trees, it made an attractive pedestal for a lovely pot of flowers.  As I painted this scene, I wondered about the old stump.  Why was it so carefully tended & preserved?   What type of tree was it?  Did it mark a spot that had some type of special  meaning? Whatever the case, the large grand tree was gone but not forgotten.  "Live large by enjoying the beauty of this earth & you will have grand memories."
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

In Living Color

5"x7" Oil on Gallery-wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

(Click Here to Buy This Painting)

Banfi winery is in the heart of Tuscany.  It is the largest winery in Europe.  The Chianti label is beautiful and quite interesting.  I drew a wonderful detailed sketch before beginning the painting.  As I started to paint, color just took over.  All the beautiful detail was lost.  Perhaps my mind went back to that happy, colorful fall day & that long winding scenic drive through the vineyards on the way to the winery.  You could say it was one of those days like truly "living life in color."  Any by the way, if you're an artist, time spent sketching or drawing is never wasted.
Thank you for taking to view my palette knife paintings.
-Sarah

Cortona Wine

5"x7" Oil on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

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Like many of the towns in Tuscany, Cortona has it's own wine.  The "C" in this painting stands for Cortona but it could also stand for your last name if it happens to start with a "C."  I might paint a few more of these for gifts, trying out some more letters of the alphabet.  Just hope the next letter doesn't take me such a long time to paint.  Maybe someday I might go back to using brushes in my paintings.  However, for now, I just continue to use the palette knife & oil paint to create my paintings.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

Vino

5"x7" Oil on 3/4" Gallery-wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 (Free Shipping)

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Vino - Italian Wine.  No introduction needed.  Just pour a glass & savor the flavors of Italy. (That is if you're a wine lover.)  I enjoyed sampling the local Italian wines but I guess I'm really more of a sweet iced tea girl. 
My challenge for today was to paint letters with the palette knife.  I didn't know if I could handle this or not so I completed the lettered section first.  Everything went pretty good except the "O."  I wiped out that area over & over but finally got it without using the brush.  I still haven't figured out how to sign my name with the palette knife.  It's the only time I use a brush!  Any suggetions for this would be appreciated.
The colors in this painting are much richer than they appear in this photo.  Looks like I'm going to have to take some time off from painting & start learning more about photographing & photo editing.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

House of Roses

6"x8" Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 (Free Shipping)

Click Here to Buy This Painting

This quirky little French house had a pointed stone roof that over the years had been partially repaired with tiles.  I couldn't tell if anyone lived there as the entrance was overgrown with roses.  Who knows, maybe there was a back entrance.My curiosity grew every time I walked by.  Who lived there?  How did they build that strange stone roof?  Why were there no weeds, just roses?
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind

11x14 Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 (Free Shipping)

 Click Here to Buy This Painting

Since my first cypress tree painting was such fun to paint, I decided to try another one.  However, this one didn't seem to flow together as well as the first one.  It could have been because my painting session was interrupted & I had to finish the painting early the next morning.  I've found that this type of painting needs to be done all in one session "alla prima" for the best results.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

China Shop

5x7 Oil on 3/4" gallery-wrapped canvas

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 (Free Shipping)

Click Here to Buy This Painting

This little palette knife painting was another attempt to see how much I could do with the palette knife.  Even though I have a bad habit of getting hung up on details, I must have been out of my mind to try & paint little bowls & cups & saucers with the palette knife.  Another crazy thing was that the building in the painting was built into a hillside was hundreds of years old, & appeared to be leaning.   Once I finished the painting I realized I should have used my "artistic license" to straigfhten it up a bit.  If I ever paint this little china shop again I will do a little restoration work & perhaps not fiddle so much on parts of the painting.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

Majestic Oak

11x14 Oil on 3/4" Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Palette Knife Painting

 This was painting was just for practice at painting trees, foilage, & shadows.  It's great fun experimenting with the palette knife just to see what it will do. 

 Thank you for taking a look & following my journey as a palette knife artist.

Sarah

Shepherds Hut

Oil on 8x10 Gallery-wrapped Canvas (3/4")

Palette Knife Painting

$99.00 (Free Shipping)

Click Here to Buy This Painting

While walking down a country lane in southwest France, I came across a strange  looking structure at the end of a field.  Later, I found out that this type of structure is called a  caselle or shepherds hut.  Historically it provided shelter for the local shepherds as they tended their sheep.  It was a place where they could get out of bad weather, rest, spend the night, or perhaps care for an injured animal.  Today they are sometimes used as an animal enclosure or for storage.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife paintings.
Sarah

Tuscany Cypress Trees

        5x7 Oil on Canvas Panel

        $99.00 (Free Shipping)
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Cypress trees are everywhere in the Tuscany landscape.  This little painting was very enjoyable from start to finish.  I'm really enjoying using only the palette knife to create paintings.
Thank you for viewing my palette knife creations.
Sarah

Little French Window

5x7 Oil on Canvas Panel

Palette Knife Painting

SOLD

Welcome to my new blog.  It's all about my journey as a palette knife artist.  Even though things like work, cleaning, cooking, and family take their share of my time, I still strive to paint "almost" daily.  I will continue to post several paintings each week.  Please feel free to contact me with comments or questions.Today I am posting my first little palette knife painting.  I used only a small diamond-shaped palette knife and a limited palette of colors of red, yellow and blue plus white.  Absolutely no brushes! 
I painted this painting from a photo I took in France.  Almost every window in the village was adorned with flowers, even the small narrow ones. 
Thank you for viewing my palette knife creations.
Sarah