You’ve loaded up your palette knife, pulled it across the canvas and…your petal is flat. Or thin. Or it looked nice and thick for approximately three seconds before slowly sinking back down. 😂

If you’re trying to create those thick, raised, flicked textured petals but yours just aren’t holding their shape, there’s usually a reason.

And the frustrating part is that sometimes it feels like you’re doing everything right!

Before you blame your palette knife skills entirely, here are 5 things I’d check first.

1. Your paste is too runny

This is the first thing I’d look at, especially if your petals look good when you first make them but then slowly lose their shape.

For thick textured petals, your paste needs enough body to actually hold the shape you create with your palette knife. If it’s too soft or runny, you might create a beautiful thick petal…and then watch it slowly flatten out.

A quick test is to move some paste around on your palette before you start. Does it sit up and hold little peaks and ridges? Or does it immediately soften and spread back out?

For this style of textured floral, I want a paste that holds its shape.

Also keep in mind that the consistency can change once you start adding other products. If your paste was thick to begin with but suddenly became much softer after adding colour, your acrylic paint could actually be the culprit.

I’ve written a whole separate post about this: Help… My Texture Paste Is Runny! Here’s Why (& How to Fix It).

2. You’re not using enough paste

This is SUCH a common one.

When you’re first learning, it feels much safer to put a tiny amount of paste on your knife. Less mess. More control. Surely easier?

Unfortunately, that tiny amount of paste also means there isn’t much there to create height.

Think about the finished petal you’re trying to create. All of that thickness has to come from the paste that was originally on your knife.

If you want a chunky, raised petal, you need enough product there in the first place.

Try experimenting with this rather than immediately changing your technique. Make three petals next to each other using a small, medium and generous amount of paste.

You’ll quickly see how much the amount of product changes the finished result.

And don’t be scared of wasting a little paste while you practise. These are useful moments that will help it MAKE SENSE! Scrape it all off straight away and have another go to make the most of it.

3. You’re pulling BACK instead of UP and back

This is a really important one.

If you want the 'flick' at the endl, you don’t want to just drag your palette knife backwards across the canvas.

If most of your movement is going back, you’re essentially spreading the paste along the surface. The further you drag it, the more that paste gets stretched out and the flatter your petal can become.

Instead, think UP and back.

As you move through the petal, you want your knife to gradually lift away from the canvas while also moving backwards. That upward movement helps you keep more of the height in the paste instead of squashing and spreading it out.

This is also what helps create that lovely raised shape and flicked finish at the end of the petal.

Try exaggerating the difference while you practise.

Make one petal where you mostly drag your knife straight backwards. Then make another where you consciously pull up and back, allowing the knife to lift away from the canvas as you finish the stroke.

Look at them from the side too! You’ll be able to see the difference in height much more clearly.

You can use these different petal styles throughout your artworks for some variety in height and texture!

To get the thick flicked look, just think:

Place → pull up and back → lift away.

It’s a small change in movement, but it can make a HUGE difference to how much height you keep in your petals.

4. You’re pressing too hard

You’ve got plenty of paste. The consistency is perfect.

Then…SQUISH. 😂

Too much pressure can flatten all that lovely height straight back out again.

It’s really easy to treat a palette knife like you’re spreading something onto the canvas, especially if you’re used to using one for backgrounds. But when I’m creating a raised petal, I’m not trying to scrape the paste flat against the surface.

Your pressure should change as you move through the stroke.

Experiment with this too. Try making one petal with quite firm pressure and another with a much lighter hand. You’ll probably be surprised by how different they look even if you started with the exact same amount of paste.

Your knife angle also plays a part here. A knife held very flat against the canvas will behave differently from one held at a higher angle.

This is why two people can use the same paste, same knife and same amount of product and still create completely different petals.

5. You’re overworking it

Make petal.

Stare at petal.

Touch petal again.

Regret touching petal. 😂

It’s VERY tempting to keep fiddling when you’re learning.

Maybe the edge isn’t quite right. Maybe the flick isn't exactly where you wanted it. So you touch it again…and then again…and suddenly the beautiful texture you had at the beginning has disappeared.

Every time you go back into wet paste, you’re moving it around again. You can flatten the ridges, soften the shape and lose some of that height.

Try giving yourself a one-stroke rule while you practise.

Place the paste, make your stroke, lift the knife and leave it.

Then look at what happened.

Even if the petal isn’t perfect, you’ll learn much more from seeing the result of that single movement than you will from constantly trying to fix it.

And remember, your petals really don't need to be identical. Slight differences in length, direction and shape can actually make your finished flowers much more interesting.

If one petal really is a disaster, I’d rather scrape it off and start again than keep working the same blob of paste.

Try this little practice exercise

Before you start your next full artwork, grab a spare canvas, board or practice surface and make a few rows of petals.

The trick is to change one thing at a time.

Use more paste, then less.

Try dragging backwards, then compare it with pulling up and back.

Use firmer pressure, then lighten it.

Try changing the angle of your knife.

If you only change one thing between each petal, you can actually see what that change does.

This is honestly one of the best ways to start understanding how your paste, palette knife and movement all work together.

Still getting flat petals?

Before you give up on your paste (or throw your palette knife across the room 😂), run through this quick check:

• Is my paste thick enough to hold its shape?
• Am I actually using enough paste?
• Am I pulling up and back, rather than just dragging backwards?
• Am I pressing too firmly against the canvas?
• Am I going back in and overworking the petal?

And most importantly, change one thing at a time.

If you change your paste, knife angle, pressure and amount of product all at once, you won’t actually know what fixed the problem.

Want to see the movement in action?

There’s only so much I can explain about palette knife movement in words. Sometimes you need to actually see the angle, pressure and little lift at the end of the stroke for it to click.

That’s exactly what I demonstrate inside The Floral Class.

I take you through the paste options I use, palette knife loading, angles and pressure, different petal techniques, flower styles and centres, plus complete floral artworks you can follow along with from start to finish.

The tutorials are all video based, so you can pause, rewind and watch the movement as many times as you need while you practise alongside me.

You can have a look at everything included in The Floral Class here.

And in the meantime, grab some spare paste and try that little practice exercise above. You might find that one tiny adjustment is all your petals needed.