A maul stick and a palette knife are two different tools commonly used by artists, especially those working with various art mediums like painting.
- Maul Stick: A maul stick, also known as a mahlstick or mahl stick, is a lightweight and straight stick used by painters to provide support for their hand while working on fine details or delicate areas of a painting. It is usually made of wood or lightweight metal and is designed to prevent the artist's hand from accidentally smudging or touching wet paint on the canvas. The maul stick is held in the artist's non-painting hand and rests lightly against the canvas, providing a stable and steady point of contact, making it easier for the artist to work on intricate sections with precision.
Using a maul stick can be particularly helpful in oil painting or other wet mediums where the paint takes longer to dry. By providing a stable rest for the hand, the artist can avoid unwanted smudging and maintain clean, sharp edges in their artwork.
- Palette Knife: A palette knife is a tool used for mixing, applying, and manipulating paint on the artist's palette or directly onto the canvas. It consists of a thin, flat, and flexible blade with a handle, and it comes in various shapes and sizes. Palette knives are usually made of metal, though some artists also use plastic or other materials.
Artists use palette knives for a variety of purposes:
Mixing colors: The flat and flexible blade of the palette knife is ideal for blending and mixing different paint colors on the palette.
Applying paint: Palette knives are often used to apply paint directly to the canvas, creating textured and impasto effects. This can be especially effective in creating expressive and abstract artworks.
Removing paint: If an artist needs to make corrections or scrape off some layers of paint, the palette knife can be used to carefully remove paint from the canvas.
Creating texture: Palette knives can be used to add texture and dimension to a painting by layering and manipulating paint on the canvas in unique ways.
Both the maul stick and the palette knife are valuable tools in an artist's toolkit, assisting them in achieving specific effects and improving the overall quality of their artwork.