Countdown to 2016 :) 10 - Tasmanian Tiger journal page, Seth Apter and random thoughts

Hi everyone, it's been a while - I've been taking a little break from blogging and painting. It's been a really busy year and it's been nice to just relax for a couple of weeks. Done some gardening, sketching and lazing around with my other half, basically not doing anything :) Anyhow, I thought it might be fun to do a countdown for the last ten days of 2015. For each of the last ten days I will be talking about one artist that has inspired me this year, one new thing I learned and one product that I have either tried for the first time or could not have done without...also, seeing as I can never seem to finish any of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenges, maybe ten days of sketches, journal pages and or other random experiments might work out better!
So to get the ball rolling (and I want you all to know that the artists will all be listed in ALPHABETICAL order) today's artist is Seth Apter who hosts the Altered Page. This is a really enjoyable blog. Weekly Seth provides links to other artists blogs and sites from which I have found some real gems. He also encourages interactive blogging by hosting challenges such as the 'real' studio table photos which was so much fun to be part of and also to see that other artist's have the same messy habits as I do! His artwork is inspiring and I have read his books over and over. Also, there are often photos of shows he has been to see in New York that I would never have a chance to experience. So thanks Seth, for a year of enjoyable blogging.
Now - something I learned this year...I already know this, and I tell students this...but as in everything, sometimes it's hard to take your own advice. Taking off paint is as important as putting it on! Making layers and enjoying the 'happy accidents' is an important part of Mixed Media for me, however, if they aren't in the right place or they don't add anything...they have to go :( .
As for a product, I just found this one this year...I was experimenting with homemade pastel grounds and bought a big container of Matisse transluscent gesso. I don't normally use this brand, but this product turned out to be a great addition to my studio. It didn't work very well for pastel but it is awesome for giving a foggy toned down look to acrylic. It almost gives an encaustic feel when mixed with paint or rolled over the top. It also adds some nice tooth to the surface, which works well for me as I like to use pencil and crayon in the final layer :) Cheers!