Magical mystery painting

I mentioned a few posts ago that I was trying out some new painting surfaces since painting on metal takes so much time (not to mention the fact that I mount my own metal pieces). As promised, here's an update on how it's going.

This week I'm working on this...

lovely birch panel. At first glance (and first touch) it was super smooth. But, alas, wood is made of fiber so it didn't stay that way. Since I use oils and oils will, over time, degrade wood if applied directly, I primed the panel with a couple of layers of acrylic matte medium.

I'm super excited about my newest painting. It's WAY different than anything I've done in a while. I'm having a blast. Instead of showing you the whole thing in progress, I thought it'd be fun to show you little bits and pieces along the way. So, here's a tidbit:

You can probably tell from this little piece of the painting that  the surface is a tiny bit rough. So far, I like it pretty well, though. Stay tuned for more little puzzle pieces of my mystery painting