Avec palette knives set

Paint with more than a brush

A palette knife changes how paint behaves. Instead of brush marks, you get smooth, flat planes of colour, sharp edges, and thick, textured ridges that catch the light. It’s also the best tool for mixing paint cleanly on a palette, since it doesn’t soak up colour like a brush does.

This 5-piece Avec set gives you five blade shapes, so you can match the tool to the job. Use the broad blades for spreading large areas of colour and building heavy texture, and use the small, pointed blades for detail, lines, and scraping.

What’s in the set

• 5 palette knives with different blade shapes and sizes

Why you’ll like it

• Five blade shapes in one set, for different effects
• Flexible blades that spread paint smoothly and evenly
• Great for impasto and thick, textured painting
• Clean, accurate mixing of colours on a palette
• Easy to wipe clean and look after
• Suitable for acrylic, oil, and gouache
• A good-value set for students, hobbyists, and professionals

Great for

• Impasto and heavily textured paintings
• Mixing colours before you paint
• Spreading large areas of colour and building backgrounds
• Sharp edges, lines, and geometric shapes
• Scraping back, scratching into wet paint (sgraffito), and blending
• Cleaning and scraping a palette
• Applying gesso, texture paste, and modelling paste
• Mixed media and collage work

How to use

1. Load a small amount of paint onto the underside of the blade, not the tip.
2. Press and drag the blade across the surface to spread paint in a smooth, flat layer.
3. Use the edge of the blade for sharp lines and the flat for broad, even coverage.
4. Lift and press to create ridges and texture.
5. Scrape back wet paint to reveal the layer underneath, or to correct mistakes.
6. Wipe the blade clean with a cloth or paper towel between colours to keep your mixes clean.

Care tips

1. Wipe the blades clean while the paint is still wet, since dried paint is hard to remove.
2. Wash with warm, soapy water and dry thoroughly to protect the blades from rust and damage.
3. For dried acrylic, soak the blade in warm water and gently peel or scrape the paint off.
4. Store the knives flat or in a case so the blades stay straight and the tips stay safe.
5. Never use the knives to cut or pry, since this can bend or damage the blades.

• Palette knives have thin, flexible blades and are not sharp, but the tips can be pointed, so use them with care.
• Blade shapes differ between knives, so try each one on a spare piece of paper to see what marks it makes.
• Keep out of reach of young children.