Trouble with Canvas

I continued my weekend plan to paint some small paintings for practice. I used a small 5x7 board with canvas. I had a real problem working on this surface. I prefer a smoother surface but thought I'd use this board for practice. I fought the texture all the way through and even had a hard time getting a good photos.

Process shots:

The final photo - even my iPad had trouble getting a good shot. I need to stick with smoother surfaces!