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Rest Stop Ocotillo - 5 x 7 study in oil I had no clue when I started a 5 x 7 study of "Rest Stop Ocotillo" that a brand knew style would be born. A style that somewhat resembles icing a cake! I began the study with a palette knife and although I intended to paint the rest of it with brushes, I used the palette knife all the way to the end, even signed it with the knife! For the most part, I struggle with being too tight in my work. My paintings often land more on the realistic side and I long to have a looser, more painterly style. In this case, when I started applying paint with the palette knife, something broke loose and that more expressive side suddenly emerged. I was so surprised to see it! I felt a kind of elated freedom and a renewed inspiration! The thick, expressive paint and crazy colors that happened were so exciting! When I approached the larger canvas version of "Rest Stop Ocotillo", I did not expect to contin...