Recently, the fellow who made my oil painting panels went out of business. I've been investigating other painting surfaces to find one similar. My first test was with Gessobord -- basically, it's a Masonite (or similar hardboard) panel with several coats of acrylic gesso on it. The surface is like a fine eggshell. Below is the test painting.
I found the Gessobord more absorbent than I like -- the brush drags. The solution, of course, would be to rub a good coat of medium onto the surface before painting. But I don't use medium, so that would be one more thing to carry out into the field.
Still, it's not a bad painting!
