I had painted several layers on my canvas, but I wasn't happy with it. I started thinking that using a palette knife and a more impasto style was what I should do. Basically, I was going to cover up what was below, but let bits of it shine through, but I knew once I went that way on canvas, there would be no more ability to paint over it, so I experimented on some photocopies.

 

Below are the blocky blobs I was working with on my stuck canvas. I was hoping to create a tranquil feeling, but I think you can see, I was far from it with this starting point (this is about the fourth layer on this canvas).

Below is a photocopy with palette knife experiments on it. 

From this, I knew I liked the three main colors I was using for my overlay and I liked the way the colors came through from behind. My printer couldn't exactly replicate what I had done with painters in terms of color, but I thought it was close enough. In the experiment version, I didn't love the bright permanent rose, so I knew I'd take that down a notch, and I could see I needed something in the upper right, but I was excited by the overall effect. I knew the texture would be different on canvas and I knew I'd lay the knifed layer down a bit heavier, but I enjoyed the feeling of giving up some control by using my palette knife. In the end, I felt brave enough to move forward with my canvas. 

 

And this is the final product:

I'm quite happy with my end result. The colors convey tranquility, but there's also energy coming through. One thing I've realized is that it doesn't have a big value range, it stays mostly in the mid-tones, but I've decided that since a tranquil pond was my inspiration, that's actually okay. The small pops of dark and light are enough for me.