A Close Call!

[@artlives8188]

Adding mistakes is genius. We don’t generally see them and the solutions are so valuable.

[@deniseatkinson7510]

Love to watch somebody who ‘knows what they are doing’!

[@lindyashford7744]

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat! Another great print.

[@clarehughes1260]

Wrestling with an octopus! What a great result in a fabulous print.

[@rozwallace1143]

Hi Fulton. To take the pain out of cleaning your reusable stencils, just leave them to soak for a really long time. The paint will eventually soften and can be rubbed off more easily. This means that the surface of the stencil won't be abraded. A bit of a pain to have bowls of stencils around in different stages of soaking but it is effective.

[@allthumbs3792]

And put them directly into the vinegar water or cleaning solution wet from the plate. Don't let them dry.

[@DrummerGrrrl]

Wrestling with a Gelli fish!

[@carolwunsch4546]

“This is what you call a sticky situation.” 😅 I love it! What a great way to approach a problem; and now, this piece has an interesting history. The colors are deep and rich. Nice save.

[@carolwunsch4546]

Looking at this again today. Striking! Just beautiful.

[@libbykalinowski5799]

“Wrestling with a jellyfish” made me laugh as it was so true and funny.

[@lfaggell]

Oh my! A close call, indeed! Great save; love the result. I am in a world of mistakes, at the moment -- and it is very instructive and encouraging to see how you deal with some of the many things that could possibly go wrong. Well done! I feel your pain with the painty stencils. My solution is to remove mine into a tray of water, paint side down, containing dishwashing liquid. I put a little more liquid than I would for washing dishes. I leave it until I feel like washing them and when I do, all I have to do is rinse them, one by one, under running water. Like magic! The paint stays wet. The liquid mix of water and soap is reusable... at least twice! I hope this helps! Thanks for your video!

[@artwhisperer88]

I think it's called Murphy's Law!

[@susanbilyeu22]

Nice save - I love how you patiently stay the course and pursue solutions! Your unflappable demeanor is an inspiration! It was probably just the camera angle, but maybe double check your plate location, the right-hand margin on your print looked wider than the left....

[@artwhisperer88]

very observant! Yes the plate shifted to the left, will correct that after another oil treatment.

[@esotopia-by-TJK]

ja. the plate shifts because the pulls (nearly) always go from right to left. so if every pull moves the plate just one millimeter this will add to quite a distance during a session ... cheers, 🥸🤘

[@Xenopticon]

I have had some experience with paper tearing when monoprinting, both using more traditional plates, run through a press, and on gel plates. One thing that can help /sometimes/ is to let the paper thoroughly dry on the plate. Overnight is good. This seems counterintuitive, but there seems to be some value in letting the integrity of the paint skin fully develop and "solidify" before pulling. The process can still be fraught, and you don't always avoid tearing, altogether--especially since you usually realize you need to take this precaution because a tear has already begun. Nonetheless, the extra drying time helps prevent further damage. The other issue may be more basic: The papers you are using are shorter-fibered papers. These have the advantage of being less expensive, but they delaminate much more easily than longer-fibered (and costlier) papers such as Rives BFK. At the prices your work commands, though, it would probably be worth the upgrade.

[@artwhisperer88]

Once I finish the 20 pcs of Fabriano Unica I will return to my old favorite Somerset Textured/Velvet and Strathmore 400. The Fabrianos were good for the experimental aspect.

[@carolmohamed5238]

That is fantastic! The depth is unbelievable! The variety of brush marks are exquisite

[@guiriecanne3329]

Hello ! strong vinegar (14°) is good for dried acrylic paint on brushes. Maybe you could try it for your stained stencils.

[@artwhisperer88]

thanks for the suggestion, will try that!

[@dalevoelkerfineart]

Wow-for the save. In my opinion one of your better pieces!

[@sandykendall-w2g]

Really enjoy your videos here in England have found that when pulling a ghost print myself I leave the paper on the plate for a very long time (even overnight!) and have never had tearing which only seems to happen when the paint is not yet fully dried (and I'm too impatient!)

[@artwhisperer88]

I;m too impatient to do that, plus doing that makes filming and editing very time consuming.

[@isabeltipple9942]

What’s your recommended paper Sandy?

[@Angela_Mahler]

“Sticky situation” lol. Looks good tho!

[@allthumbs3792]

All's well that ends well! Final pull 👍🏼

[@trdewey]

I will clean my brayers and stencils with a little bit of Murthy’s oil soap mixed with my dish soap. It seems to get a lot more acrylics off my tools. I soak them in a tub of hot water for a bit then scrub. Every now and then I do this-not all the time. But it’s not a harsh cleaner.

[@allthumbs3792]

I also use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean my gel plate, it's very gentle.

[@Kd33_art]

I love the outcome….it looks like a black and white photo and reminds me of Keith Haring.❤❤

[@DeborahWhiteheadBee7]

You already know you can clean that up and you’ll never know it!

[@denisewhitaker5116]

Fantastic!!

[@artwhisperer88]

Thanks so much!

[@cindyhirz6328]

That was an awesome solution, covering torn areas with collage! I will definitely try that out 😊

[@carole2077]

It ended up a great print. I love the colour.

[@JuanaLara-p8c]

Disaster ??? Noooo ¡¡ Beautiful work... You got damage control... 😉Master, as a good connoisseur of different philosophies, you have managed to express with the Japanese philosophy ''Kintsukoroi, the Art of putting back together what is broken''. You have got to teach us once again, how to achieve beauty and harmony through this ancient thought that recomposes and heals what is broken, transforming reality into a magical and well-designed aesthetic that is so yours. All my gratitude. Congratulations. Loving greetings.💖💚🫂

[@andrewhansen4179]

Brilliant save... magnificent outcome..do you think the paper tore because too much time elapsed before pull, or because of the nature of metallic paint, or because of prior residue on plate, or what????

[@svanwyk51]

Great outcome!

[@chrisruss9861]

Struggle adds a little drama. The plate wanted to keep the picture and you were in hand to hand combat to get it back.

[@artwhisperer88]

Fabriano Unica

[@esotopia-by-TJK]

this Unica from Fabriano is quite cheap to buy over here, but it's definitely the paper that has driven me close to rage. (yes, i don't have the patience that you constantly demonstrate)

[@artlives8188]

I would love to see you experiment with spattering by flicking a toothbrush with some paint over the surface. Just a little?

[@artwhisperer88]

maybe dribbling paint like Jackson Pollock.

[@artlives8188]

@@artwhisperer88 I love how fearless you are!

[@dianecaust2425]

I like your colours and shapes. I don’t like the thin line scribble collage paper there. It is totally at odds to the rest. The pulling ALWAYS happens when paper left too long on,plate. Happens to me all the time. Thanks for the videos, I enjoy what u do,

[@lawrencediggs7957]

Which paper did you use?

[@artwhisperer88]

Fabriano Unica from dickblick.com

[@lawrencediggs7957]

@@artwhisperer88 Somehow you seem to be having more "sticking" issues with the Fabriano paper. Thanks for the demo on how paper can affect the process and workflow. The solution actually expanded the potential of the piece.

[@artwhisperer88]

@@lawrencediggs7957 I'm beginning to realize that no other printmaking method subjects the paper to such great stress as gelli printing. The 100% cotton content of Somerset makes a huge difference in paper strength! I also need to oil my plate before every session since I use it so heavily. Thanks for watching!

[@marymeyer8185]

Brilliant save. I am really enamored with this print. Less mistake and more like the fury and the passion! I’ve not used it myself yet but a friend recommended using Murphy’s Oil Soap.