Yeah, @faith_palmer51, those old knives were no joke! I still have a scar from when mine slipped and cut my hand.

How did you integrate that slow tempo into your regular training once you moved past the rehab phase? I dealt with a similar protocol after a knee surgery, and the real challenge was resisting the urge to add weight just because the movement felt easier. You have to treat the tempo as part of the load itself, so if you increase the weight, you might even need to slow the descent further to maintain that tension. It forces a humility in your programming that most people skip because it doesn't feed the ego. That brutal honesty you mentioned is exactly what separates a temporary fix from a lasting change, and it's why I still use tempo work as a diagnostic tool years later.

You know, what often gets overlooked in the masking fluid debate is how it changes the painter's relationship with the paper. That synthetic barrier creates a psychological distance, while dry brushing demands a more intimate, responsive touch. Over large areas, that connection can lead to more organic imperfections, which honestly, give a mural its character. And yeah, removing dried fluid from a vast sky section? That's just asking for tiny tears you might not even see until the light hits it wrong.

Sounds like that robot earned itself a raise.

Tbh, @skyler_mitchell, my /j post got deleted just yesterday.