Jean, I loved it when I first saw it but now I am losing breath because of it. It's just gorgeous! Gorgeous I tell you!

Thank you Lisa, it turned out better than I expected. I love this surface, you may want to try it sometime. I don't use many pastel pencils, so I don't know if the surface would eat them up. I'll be playing around with this more, and taking Sharon's suggestions. At this point, I hate working on paper. I don't think I will ever use Canson again! The boards are more stable, hold pastel better, and the color ends up so intense and rich. Plus I like gessoing.

Jean

I love the stuff. All my big pastels are on it. if an area needs wiping out or more grit, you can just add more of that ground without tinting and as soon as you put pastel on it it , the repair is completely hidden.

Jean and Sharon, I have the MDF and the gesso, do I need the acrylic? I will go get the Golden for pastels. Also, is there a tooth or texture to this surface? Would either of you mind a bit more detail on how to make this? Also, how to you "fix" your pastels to the board? I assume you are using soft pastels. Are they very fragile when finished? Can you layer at all? Which ground do you repair with? So many questions. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. I would like to try! Perhaps a response here is not appropriate. I wouldn't want to sidetrack anyone from this beautiful painting. Just gorgeous, Jean! I hate paper too.

You really don't need the gesso, unless you want a white underlayer.

The Goldens Acrylic Ground for Pastel has the grit and is the product you need. Experiment on small pieces to see what texture you like. I like a lot of texture and use it very boldly everywhere except where a face is going. I generally brush it both directions and use it SPARINGLY on my brush and drag it. If you use too much ground it will give you too many raised ridges to deal with. Also you can vary the texture with the amount of water you use. I also buy the Goldens fluid thinner for acrylics. Their website www.goldenpaints.com is very informative.

I tint mine with Golden's MATTE fluid acrylic, not the regular (important) available at www.theitalianartstore.com.

I then airbrush mine with the matte fluid acrylic. It makes a lovely velvety surface. Regular fluid acrylics are too shiny.

I always spray lightly as the pastel does not seem to darken as much on this surface. Also the grit really HOLDS the pastel and you never get that shredded paper effect from overworking.

Hope this helps!

Sharon, thank you so much. I will try it today and let you know!

I'm so glad that you're going to try this! Sharon is a great guide, I can't wait to see your first piece. Be sure to thin the pastel ground enough; I didn't on this one and felt like I was brushing on cement. I used gesso first because I wanted the white background, probably did too much prep work as I also put a thin layer of acrylic on to tint it. Sharon, my acrylic has a very matte finish, it's actually an airbrush ink and works very well.

Jimmie, when are you going to try this??

Jean