I once had a painting block like a writer's block. I could not think of what I wanted to do next. I also wanted to try something new, like just painting directly on the canvas without any guide lines or grid lines or any type of shape references. I just wanted to go directly from my mind to the canvas. I also wanted a nice varied brown background laid in with pallet knife to be painted over with the subject matter. I also wanted it to be in your face striking, unlike the usual muted colors and tones in a typical classical portrait painting. So, I laid in the background with titanium white. I let it dry before I then blotched and rubbed in burnt umber and burnt sienna at various intensities. After that dried I started painting in the hand with various sizes of brushes. It was a very pleasurable experience that caused extreme focus and involvement with the painting.