Three palette knife oil paintings, a white floral, a Venetian canal and a red birch scene, above a linen sofa in a sunlit room
Palette knife art · Hand-painted oil on canvas

Oil laid on thick with a blade

Two hundred and twenty-two palette knife oils: florals built from slabs of colour, canal scenes in Venice, birch woods, meadows and shoreline light. Every one is hand-painted to order in oils by a university-trained artist, in the size and framing you choose, with free delivery Australia-wide. Allow 21 to 28 days, because the paint goes on after you order.

Shop palette knife paintings Which size? See it to scale
  • 100% hand-painted oil on canvas
  • Painted to order in your size, framed or stretched
  • Free delivery Australia-wide, 21 to 28 days
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Rated 4.81/5 from 549 reviews

All 222 palette knife oil paintings

Every print is made to order. Stretched ready to hang, or with a floating frame. 30-day money-back guarantee.

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Why palette knife

Knife work is a lighting decision as much as a colour one

Impasto paint stands off the canvas, so the picture changes every time the light in the room moves across it.

People choose these for the colour and are surprised by the shadows. Paint laid on with a blade sits two or three millimetres proud, and raking light catches every ridge. Hang one opposite a window and it looks different at breakfast and at six o'clock. Hang it flat under a downlight directly above and the texture disappears into glare. A lamp or a picture light set off to one side does far more for it than brightness.

Go bigger than feels safe. Knife strokes are broad by nature, so a small canvas crowds them and the image turns muddy; above a three-seater sofa, think 120cm wide or more. Leave the glass off, always, since the whole point is the relief. Give the piece a quiet wall with room to breathe, and keep the surrounding palette plain, as patterned wallpaper fights the ridges and both lose.

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How your painting is made

  1. Choose the size and finishSeven standard sizes from 60 × 50cm to 200 × 135cm. Stretched ready to hang, rolled, or one of our frames. The size guide on every painting shows it to scale.
  2. Painted to order, by handA university-trained artist paints your piece in oils on canvas, working from the original. Two to three weeks at the easel, then drying time.
  3. Stretched, framed, checkedGallery-wrapped or framed in our workshop, then photographed and checked before it leaves.
  4. Delivered free, Australia-wideMade to order in 21 to 28 days, then tracked to your door. Thirty-day money-back guarantee if it isn't what you hoped.

Questions people ask

Is this a print or a real painting?

A real painting. Every piece is hand-painted in oils on canvas by a professional artist. Nothing here is printed, and nothing is a print with paint dabbed on top.

How close is it to the original?

Very. Our artists work from high-resolution references of the original and match composition, colour and brushwork. Because it is painted by hand, no two are identical, which is rather the point.

What sizes can I order?

Seven standard sizes, from 60 × 50cm up to 200 × 135cm, and custom sizes on request. Open the size guide on any painting to see each size to scale next to a sofa.

Framed or unframed?

Your choice at checkout: stretched and ready to hang, rolled in a tube, or framed in floating, classic or ornate frames. A floating frame adds a few centimetres each side; an ornate frame adds roughly 8 to 12cm.

How long does it take?

21 to 28 days, because it is painted to order. Delivery is free and tracked anywhere in Australia.

What if I don't love it?

Thirty-day money-back guarantee. Tell us within thirty days of delivery and we will make it right or refund you.

Palette knife painting of a red blossom tree in thick impasto oils, hanging above an oak console in a sunlit room

222 textured artworks·100% hand-painted·Made to order in any size·Free delivery Australia-wide

Paint applied with a blade rather than a brush — laid on thick, in ridges you can see across a room and feel with a fingertip. The one kind of wall art a print cannot imitate.

What is a palette knife painting?

A palette knife painting is made with a flat steel blade instead of a brush. The knife lifts paint straight from the palette and lays it onto the canvas in slabs, so the pigment sits on the surface rather than soaking into it. Edges come out clean and faceted, colours stay separate instead of blending into mud, and the finished surface carries ridges deep enough to throw their own small shadows.

The technique is old — Courbet used a knife in the 1850s, and Van Gogh reached for one when a brush could not move paint fast enough. What changed is scale. Modern palette knife work tends to be large, high-colour and unapologetic, which is why it has become one of the most popular things to hang in a contemporary room.

Why it suits a real room

It changes through the day. Because the surface is three-dimensional, morning light rakes across it one way and evening light another. A flat picture looks the same at 8am and 6pm; a knife painting does not.

It carries at distance. Fine detail disappears from across a room. Texture and strong colour do not, which is why knife work holds a large wall better than most other styles.

It is the hardest style to fake. A print can copy any image, including a photograph of a knife painting. What it cannot copy is relief — the actual height of paint above canvas. Stand at an angle and the difference is obvious immediately.

Ours

  • 100% hand-painted in oils by professional artists — never a print, never a giclée
  • Made to order in any size, so the painting fits the wall rather than the other way round
  • Framed and ready to hang, gallery wrap, or rolled canvas if you prefer to frame it yourself
  • Free delivery Australia-wide and a 30-day money-back guarantee
Common questions
What is palette knife painting?

Painting with a flat steel blade rather than a brush. The knife scoops paint from the palette and spreads, drags or presses it onto the canvas, leaving thick faceted marks with visible relief. It is the standard way to achieve heavy impasto texture.

What is impasto?

Impasto simply means paint applied thickly enough that the brush or knife marks stay visible and stand above the canvas surface. Palette knife work is the most direct way to get it. Van Gogh's skies are the most famous example.

Is textured wall art still in style?

More than ever. As interiors have moved toward plain limewashed walls and natural timber, texture has become the thing people add rather than pattern. A heavily worked canvas gives a quiet room somewhere for the eye to rest without introducing another colour scheme.

Can you print a palette knife painting?

You can print the image, but not the texture. A print reproduces a photograph of the ridges — flat ink on a flat surface, with the shadows baked in at one fixed angle. The moment you move, the illusion stops working. Every painting in this collection is applied by hand, so the relief is real.

How do I clean a textured painting?

A dry, soft brush or a clean makeup brush, lightly, every few months. Do not use water, cloths or sprays — fabric catches on the raised edges and moisture can dull the surface. Keep it out of direct sun, as with any oil painting.

What size should I order?

Above a sofa or bed, aim for roughly two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath. Knife paintings reward going large — the texture is the point, and it reads better at scale. Every work here is made to order, so you can pick the size the wall needs.

Watch: how our paintings are made
How Direct Art Australia paintings are hand-painted