Can Pastelmat Take an Alcohol Wash?

'Passing Sheep'                12x12               pastel                 ©Karen Margulis
available $250

I am home from the mystery cruise and finally had time to paint. We missed 5 pdf our ports due to bad weather but I saw enough beautiful scenery in Norway and Ireland to keep me busy for a long time! One of the first images that begged to be painted were the sheep I saw on my bus tours of the countryside around Belfast. I pulled out a sheet of white Pastelmat and cut it into a 12x12 square. I decided to do an alcohol wash. I have heard others say that Pastelmat isn't good for an alcohol wash. I have never had problems with it though. Here is some information from a previous experiment:

Does Pastelmat take a wet wash / underpainting?

Yes it does. I tried both 70% isopropyl alcohol and water with different results for each. But for both wet washes I didn't get the drips and happy accidents that I usually get on my favorite paper Uart. That is because of the cellulose fiber makeup of the paper. It is truly like a sponge. It grabs the liquid and doesn't let it move...or drip or mingle. So the wet wash allowed me to tone the paper but it didn't do anything interesting or exciting.
See blow:

I used alcohol on the left and water on the right.

 NOTE:  The alcohol wash side dried in under 10 minutes...longer than on Uart but much faster than the side washed with water. The water side took about 30 minutes to dry! It was like a wet sponge. The alcohol side also dried FLAT while the side washed with water had a buckle and wave. I was able to flatten it under heavy books.

I have also tried watercolor on Pastelmat in the past and the white paper was wonderful. The colors were bright and vibrant.  The sponge-like surface prevented any blooming or running so again no happy accidents. I happen to like happy accidents!

An alcohol wash underpainting on Pastelmat

close up of the sheep