In prepartion for traveling/living full time in a 28 - 30 foot Class C RV, I have been looking at options for painting surfaces that will be light in weight and not take up a lot of space. RV's do not have a lot of storage space. My choice of surface to paint on is archival linen panel - I don't think the surface can get any better than this. I like the 18x24 format.
In a perfect world, I would also paint on 30 x 48 heavy duty gallery wrapped canvas and 24 x 48 MDF panels. However due to the storage constraints of an RV, my painting world will no longer afford me large substraights or the weight of 18x24 linen panels.
Lately, I have been experimenting with Strathmore Heavy Linen Canvas Paper
18 x 24. I really like this surface as it has a "Linen Texture" to it. I do not gesso the surface, as I like this linen texture to show through in the finished piece. The paint will dry quickly on the un-gessoed surface, but for me this is a good thing because I am always trying to loosen my style so I tend to paint faster when using this substraight.
The other thing I should mention is I use very little water in my painting - my brush is "JUST" damp. I tend to put paint on in a sort of medium thickness and by no means am I a "watery" painter. The point being although a heavy paper surface, with too much water it could buckle a tad - but for my style this is not a consideration.
I really enjoy this painting surface and can see it being my primary painting surface once out there living in our RV.
Following is the link - great product - check it out and give it a try.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/strathmore-acrylic-pads/
This Land is My Land
