I Had made a homemade surface last fall for winter-time indoor work. You know, on those days when you aren't up to really creating, you can experiment with products for making surfaces to paint on. I used a heavy archival piece of foamcor, measured out my size, then taped the edges. I thin brushed acrylic gesso inside the taped off shape, let that dry, and gave it a second coat. Then I mixed some gesso , water, and dry pumice together and painted that on with a foam roller. I let that dry, and spent all winter contemplating what to use it for!! It did turn out to be highly sanded, so to speak. This week I decided to try a full scene of this years fall color looking up Hope valley, west to east. First I gave it a watercolor underpainting----I think I should of gone darker at this stage. Then I began my first blocking in with the harder pastels.
It was about 3 hours of getting the block in done - - -I think I was having trouble with getting the blues and greens in to make the forest recede. The sky was painted in with yellow which I think worked. The time I was trying to paint was 11 am to about 1 pm - - -the light is very cool at this time, but since it was late fall, the sun was far into the south. I am not sure of this very rough surface. Some times I do like it, but not sure today.
This is where I stopped - - - I will need to think about it to see if for me its really done. And now to think up another project!!!
