Painting palette knives come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and have been used since the 1800s to apply paint directly to the surface of a painting. Palette knives allow you to apply paint thickly and freely and to create wonderfully expressive, vibrant results.

The book starts with a comprehensive section on palette knife techniques and working with the relatively fast-drying acrylic paints. There is then a series of eight projects, which become more challenging as the book progresses, beginning with bold, blocky beach huts, moving through sweeping, scenic sea- and snowscapes, and ending with a striking sunset scene of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, UK.

Some of the projects will show how to use palette knives alongside brushes to introduce texture into your paintings, but most are created using palette knives only. The book also explores painting wet-into-wet, as well as collage and mixed media, incorporating paper clippings, sand and sea shells to create a vibrant painting based on a day by the sea.