This was one of my greatest painting challenges.  During college, I took a Figure Painting course, and the professor assigned abstracted figure as our final project.  He suggested I step out of my comfort zone and put away my brushes.  I was limited to only painting with palette knives.  As a realistic painter, I was used to blending with soft brushes that leave a nice smooth finish on the canvas.  I was very frustrated with this new process. As the layers continued to develop, I was surprised to find I'd used up all my tubes of oil paint. In the end, I learned a new painting technique and a valuable lesson - it's okay to push your boundaries from time to time.  I was happy with the result - it had a cool raised texture that was bright and colorful.  And took a very long time to dry. 

A few years later, I sold this painting during a group show in the Reston Art Galleries and Studios.