Watercolor on Canvas Board

I've been painting on Arches cold press or rough 300# papers since 1990. I love it. That said, when I saw Fredrix canvas boards, I was tempted. How would the paints flow on this linen surface? Could I frame it without glass?

The Produce Aisle

16" X 20"

Watercolor

$295 (unframed)

Click here to purchase

I chose a rather ambitious and atypical subject for my first painting on this new to me product. I found the darkest darks hard to achieve, but being able to lift the paint back off was a fair trade for that problem. On paper, it would have been necessary to mask off the roots or carefully paint around them.

With this canvas board, I was able to paint the solid color of the shadow and then after it dried, I went back in and lifted the paint off. I was very pleased with this effect and when I have an image that this would work particularly well with I may choose to use canvas again.

Granulation and wet on wet techniques still work fairly well on the canvas.

I have sprayed the finished product with several coats of Liquitex Archival UV Protectant Varnish.(Matte). I am planning to frame it without glass.

Do you paint with watercolors on canvas? Leave your experience in the comments. I would love to hear what you have to say.