A mini sunset and a new surface

colored pencil on canvas, 3.5" x 2.5'

As much as I enjoy the gessoed canvas, it has one serious problem when it comes to colored pencils: the unsupported area inside the mini stretcher bars. I found two workarounds: working with a very sharp point that does not require much pressure and keeping a finger against the back of the canvas when I need to burnish. Unfortunately, burnishing does not happen without pressure.

Slava suggested to try a digital canvas on a piece of wood. We had a few samples left from the time when he was in the process of finding the best canvas for his photography, and he stretched one for me. The sunset above is my first mini landscape on the new surface. Lessons learned:

– a digital canvas is finer and more dense
– it has more “tooth” (or what should it be called in this case?), and even a slightly dull point will leave white gaps on it
– it is not possible to correct small mistakes with a white pencil on a digital canvas
– all strokes, even those made with a dull point, look harsher on a digital canvas than on a traditional one

It feels like a good surface, I just need to adjust to it.

4 Replies to “A mini sunset and a new surface”

  1. Thanks, Janki. Took me a little while to get used to funny noises a pencil makes on the digital canvas 🙂 A normal gessoed canvas is “quieter.”

  2. I always wanted to try pencil colors on canvas. always wondered how it will react.. but never got a chance to do it.. But now i am tempted even more to try it.. I will ask you for the tips..

  3. I am still new to it but will be happy to toss in my $0.02 whenever you need them.

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