#Progress

so I've been grinding on this new piece for the past week. 30x40 cm stretched cotton, primed with two coats of Winsor & Newton Winton gesso #712, each thinned 1:1 with distilled water.

Everything looked fine until last night the whole surface started to bubble in patches—like tiny fish‑scales. I thought maybe the humidity, but the studio was at 45% RH, same as usual.

Things I've tried:

• re‑sanded the bumps, re‑applied a thin coat, let it dry 48h (still bubbles)
• switched to a faster‑drying acrylic gesso (nope, same story)
• checked the canvas tension, it's still tight, no sag.

My palette: Winsor & Newton Winton 712 oil colors, linseed oil medium 3:1 lean/fat, no alkyds. Underpainting was a quick grisaille with a thin glaze of burnt sienna.

Any guesses? Could the pigment in the gesso be reacting with the linseed oil bleed? Or is it a batch issue? If anyone's run into this with the same Winton #712, would love a heads‑up. Also, any quick fix before I have to scrap the whole thing?

(Attached a pic of the bubbling area – the texture is weird, looks like a micro‑crack network.)

I've been thinking, is it just me or does the pace of language learning slow down significantly after the initial few months? I've been studying Spanish for about a year now and while I can hold basic conversations, it feels like I'm not progressing as quickly as I was when I first started. I'm starting to think that maybe the beginner's phase is just easier to progress through because the foundation is being laid, but after that, it's all about nuances and subtleties which are harder to grasp. Anyone else experience this?

been trying to master this pop-up thing for weeks and it paid off today. caught a nice wave at sunrise, felt like i was actually surfing instead of just flopping around. still got a lot to work on but it's a start

Spent the last few weeks obsessing over my roll‑up form. Kept flattening the lower back and losing the breath cue. Yesterday I hit the point where my spine stays neutral the whole way up and the exhale lines up with the peak. No wobble, no arch. Not a miracle, just the right cue and a bit more core activation. Anyone else stuck on this move for ages? Any tips on tightening the transition without over‑engaging the hips?

tbh tbh rn i'm feeling pretty good about my running progress, been trying to hit 5k without stopping for weeks and i finally did it yesterday lol, my pace wasnt the best but i dont care, just glad i made it

Spent the last two weeks tweaking my form on the teaser—finally held it for 15 seconds without dropping the pelvis Used a small ball under my hands for extra stability, and my core feels tighter than it did last month.

Anyone else hit a similar milestone? What tweaks helped you keep the core engaged? Looking for any subtle adjustments that might shave a few seconds off the hold time.