Yes You Can Use Canvas Boards for Pastel!

'Provence Impressions'               6x8              pastel on board                ©Karen Margulis
available $95

 I had some canvas boards that I bought for my oil painting practice. I wondered how I could use them for pastels. I know I could just paint on them. The texture of the canvas would allow for the application of pastel. But could I elevate it and allow for even more layering?  I turned to my shelf of goodies and pulled out a jar of Micaceous Iron Oxide. This is an acrylic paint but it has a slight grittiness. It is just enough grit to give a toothy sanded surface.

I applied some of this paint which is a dark silvery gray to the 6x8 canvas board. The result was a rough dark toned board....perfect for pastels. I will say that I had painted the board with random brushstrokes and it felt quite rough. I did rub in the fist layer of pastel but it still was too rough to allow for fine detail. I didn't mind! I liked the abstracted quality to the finished painting!

I have used this product before and made a video. You can see it on this post here:
http://kemstudios.blogspot.com/2019/07/more-fun-with-micaceous-iron-oxide.html

The demo board along with my Terry Ludwig Floral Landscape pastel set. I made a video demo of this painting for my Patreon group. Consider joining us this month. Our focus is on COMPOSITION! I am so excited about this month and I'd love to have you join our group!
www.patreon.com/karenmargulis