Sometimes an artist has to revert to childhood and use their hands.  That is exactly what I did with this heavily textured oil of one of my favorite subjects.  How I love cows.  Often my husband tries not to roll his eyes when I beg him to pull over so I can "meet" them.  The cows I have encountered have always been friendly.  I could not wait to snap on my rubber gloves, grab multiple great masses of juicy oil paint and smear paint like a child on this canvas.  Although joyful, it was very hard work and took many, many layers.  Near the end, I began to wonder if I would ever use a brush again.  Yes, of course, I still do use a brush, but I enjoy laying down my first layer of oil with my hands quite a bit these days on my larger paintings and developing subsequent layers with more exacting brushwork.