There is a well known artist, Nicolai Fechin, who was a Russian immigrant to the United States.  His formative years in the former Soviet Union were a short period of time, the golden years, between the early 1900's and the reign of Stalin.  A technique my wife learned from him was use of a pallet knife instead of a brush.  One result is a textured coat of paint.  Another result, for reasons that are not obvious, are vibrant colors.  So this painting of Shady Oaks has been one of my favorites from the day that it emerged from Thao's studio.

Before going into Thao's more recent work in Colorado, this is one last featured image from the Texas gallery.