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Brushwork and Edges

Brushwork and Edges

By 10/09/2025September 7th, 2026No Comments

Brushwork and Edges

Where Texture Shapes Perception

by Alana Knuff  |  January 17, 2026

Brushes and palette knives are painting tools. Brushes apply light to heavy paint and palette knives render thick impasto application. To emphasize objects in the foreground, thick intense hues are appropriate. To emphasize objects far away, thin muted colors work best. The variety adds depth and interest to paintings.
A painting that has all hard edges appears is like a photograph. Value painters use all soft/lost edges. My preference is a combination of soft and hard edges with the hard edges near the point of interest. An exception to this occurs with portraits. In portraits the eyes are the focal point, and soft edges are a must in rendering eyes.

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Professional award winning artist focusing on portraiture, marine art and fine art. My work focuses on 'the moment' - an event, a personality revealed, a memory recalled. I work from life and my photos. My style of painting falls between impressionism and realism. At age eight I won second place in a national art contest. My art career began in 2008. I studied portraiture at the Florence Academy of Art; with a scholarship at The Scottsdale Art Academy; and in a workshop taught by Michael Shane Neal. My paintings have received awards and have hung in exhibits. The American Society of Marine Artists honored me with Signature status. The Art Renewal Center honored me with ARC Associate Living Master. And in 2024, I received membership into Salmagundi Club of NYC and in 2026 became an elected associate member of the American Artist Professional League.