5:55 The blotchyness is the reason you use (heavy) textured cold pressed watercolor paper, they are far from ideal for pretty young female portraits. Hot pressed watercolor papers, however, are excellent for smoothness. For man/male portraiture the "back" side of Canson Mi-Teintes (or similar) is OK. Definitely, Pastelmat is perfect for pretty young/child female portraits, since Pastelmat has no texture at all, that is it is excellently smooth, still has invisible microtexture, which is perfect for grabbing/eating up the pastel paint. Now, I understand the reason you prefer the smooth surface of Pastelmat for oil pastel.