palette knife

American  

noun

Painting.

1. a thin blade of varying flexibility set in a handle and used for mixing colors or applying them to a canvas.

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palette knife British  

noun

1. a round-ended spatula with a thin flexible blade used esp by artists for mixing, applying, and scraping off paint, esp oil paint

2. a knife with a round-ended flexible blade used in cookery for scraping out a mixture from a bowl, spreading icing, etc

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Etymology

Origin of palette knife

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

He used a palette knife, sharp instruments, even his fingers, to scrape the paint.

From The Wall Street Journal

Tsehaye Afewerki’s art focuses on exploring feelings and expressions through portrait painting, created by using a palette knife with oil on canvas.

From Seattle Times

“What I do primarily is put on a background of color with a brush, then I work solely with a palette knife,” Bill says.

From Washington Post

This exhibition still showcases his extraordinary atmospheric effects — a sunset in a wash of mauve oils, a squall rendered with a few strokes of a palette knife.

From New York Times

Adnan applied her oils thickly and scraped them across her canvases with a palette knife, leaving the built-up surfaces like evidence of their own making.

From New York Times