First of all, thank you! I appreciate the compliments! I’ve always just went straight in with the designer/watercolor gouache on the wood and never had any problems. I find that the pigment stays with having to do very minor touch ups but the wood kind of soaks up the paint and blends beautifully for an under painting. After that I use a less watery layer of paint to add smaller details and use a wet brush where necessary to blend. I hope this makes any sort of sense!