"Basking in the Sun" is a full-sized oil on canvas that is now in a private collection. This work is one of those works that I just allowed myself to just paint without any fuss!  Every artist works differently.  For me if the strokes are not "genuine" then there's no point in painting.  I spent so many years trying to be a "realist artist."  In the end, I realized that I already had a certain style that was genuinely my own, even if it wasn't realistic. One of the greatest joys in life is when we learn to not only accept ourselves, but actually learn to love and "embrace" who we are!