I'm learning and screaming doing this as a prototype under Ubuntu. The reason I went with Ubuntu to start is because it already has a working desktop environment and last time I attempted this I was running into a roadblock trying to install the initial desktop environment so it crossed my mind...
The specific reason for my pick to Ubuntu 19.04 is that it is a good starting point and will be quickly abandoned by Canonical. This leaves it the perfect version as it wont get support anymore from Ubuntu if i forget to remove something, and replace the targeted OS update repositories to an IP...