Another Pastel Surface Experiment

Moonrise Stillness     8 x 10 inches     pastel on linen laid on wood
available for purchase

I enjoyed painting in pastel on my home made Arches and Art Spectrum Primer surface so much (see post from March 17), I decided to try out another surface today.  I remembered a pair of linen pants I recently cut up to use for art and sewing (my husband always gives me his worn out clothes to use for sewing).  I applied the linen to a 1/8 inch thick birch wood panel with lineco wheat starch adhesive (wheat paste).  After that dried, I applied a layer of clear Art Spectrum Primer.  In the image below you can see the prominent texture of the linen as I began the first passes of pastel.

I did an alcohol wash and then added more layers of pastel:

Here you can see the texture of the surface.  It worked well for building thin layers of subtle color without getting muddy:

I was very pleased with the final results.  The texture of the linen still shows through.  The surface reminds me of the surface of some of Monet's late paintings, where layers of broken color can be seen up close, but when viewed from a distance, the eye blends it all into a dynamic viewing experience that is the crowning achievement of impressionism.