A Bit Rusty... Gesso & watercolour canvas x soft pastels

This morning, I started by applying gesso to a few sheets of thicker, smooth paper. I did this with the idea of trying out the pastel pencils on them. I only did this very briefly before I left. The difference was immediately noticeable: the pencils stayed on the paper well, except on the bits of paper I hadn’t covered with gesso. That was a slight lapse in concentration. The difference was immediately obvious. Not a single pencil mark remains on the smooth paper.

It wasn’t until this evening that I finally had time to do something again. I decided to use the watercolour paper – that troublesome paper I just can’t seem to paint on with watercolours. Instead of pastel pencils, I used Rembrandt soft pastels. I’d expected the result to be rough, but that isn’t the case; however, there is still a lot of dust left behind. I removed it by sitting the kneading eraser on it. I noticed it is impossible to erase the pastel using this canvas paper. The only option is to use white and add another layer.

Perhaps I could have used less pastel. It takes a bit of getting used to working with my old materials again, most of which I’ve divided and left behind in Hungary. It feels asif I’m a bit rusty and have to start all over again once back home.
In any case, I’m not going to buy anything else on the off-chance that it might work better what the painting teacher suggested. I doubt she understands half of the time what I mean and is totally up to date or... willing (able) to work with whatever is available and make the best out of it.

So far, I’m not unhappy with the result although it isn't finished yet. I just don’t know yet how I can preserve it. For now, I’m treating it as a test.

_{Materials: paper, gesso, flat brush, Rembrandt soft pastels, watercolour canvas.
Prompt: see title
2-6-2026}