If you click the image you will get a larger version where you can see my sketches. This is generally how I work. I use a japanese album which allows me to string sketches along for an entire sketchbook.
This piece was an experiment to see how gouache interacts with canvas. While I really enjoy the final product it became VERY clear that canvas and gouache are not meant to work with each other.
Here is a piece I did for an art show last August (2009). It was mainly used as a study to see how I liked the interaction of guache on relatively high-quality hot-pressed watercolor paper. To make a long story short- it is now my surface of choice.