Ask Me Anything about Going Solvent-Free
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- čas přidán 27. 02. 2021
- You can give solvents the boot and still be able to clean your brushes.
As we move into 2021, wouldn't it be great to create an even safer work space!
In this episode I answered all your questions about making your painting practice safer in the months ahead.
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Someone's probably already said this, but you don't have to cover a container of linseed oil, except to prevent oxidisation, any more than you'd have to worry about a cup or so of olive oil combusting. A paint factory has a lot of oil and oily cloths, far more than any home or studio painter would have, unless you're just hoarding a considerable stash of oily rags or paper towels together.
We miss Mary. Good to find her here still.
So helpful! Thanks so much!
VERY helpful info, thank you!
This has been so incredibly helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for this. THANK YOU
thank you 😊❤
Very informative and interesting!
Thank you for this excellent video! Your explanation of safer oil painting techniques was exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you for this Video. I also went to Columbia College (Alumni) and I just started going back to Oil Painting. I had bought M. Graham and Gamblin paints with the Walnut Oil. I have most every solvent but haven't oil painted in almost 5-6 years. I'm going Solvent free and thank you. Your video "Woke" me up even more so. THANK YOU!!!!! I'm passing your video and sharing it. I'm subscribing to you now just off of this Video. Keep up the work and keep making videos please!
Mary, you've done the best youtube I've seen for answering painting questions, particularly about safe non-toxic painting in all mediums. You covered all the questions from people, getting into the specifics that are often glossed over. Thank you!
Very excited to hear about painting without toxics!!!
Gracious! You may have just saved my life! I was thinking seriously about changing from acrylic portraits to pastels or oils. I was leaning toward soft and pencil pastels. A thousand "Thank You's!" The timing of me seeing your video is absolutely perfect tonight! I will now choose oils because I already have researched how to paint in a non toxic oil studio. I also appreciate what you've said when you listed toxic colors, but you've added a great list of substitute choices. Thanks again!
From joyce
Great video- I got REALLY sick from gambol yesterday- missed work, cat got sick too!
Hi Mary, new here on your channel! Wanna say how much I appreciate you for sharing all this incredible information, sharing your time in order to make sure everyone could get their questions answered! I'm glad I bumped into this video
Great video Thanks
I use a brush dip with safflower oil and clove oil . When I wash them I use Murphy’s oil soap.
Gosh Mary you may be a life saviour as I have noticed after a day of oil painting I have a " funny" throat I have been using Solvent in my room with just the window open
So THANK YOU so much a very timely message
Thank you so much shall adopt your suggested non toxic oil paints
I know its years after you did this video but I have recently started painting and have been concious of the danger of toxinsl This has helped me so much. Thank youL
Thank you! What paints do you use, i cant find the link you mentioned... you have helped me tremendously regarsing my fear of oil painting even though i love it.
Hi Mary, thank you for the useful info. I am curious what were the findings on water soluble oils? Is it safe to use?
Hi thank you for posting and bringing awareness to this issue. I too had a professor pass away from brain cancer. Not sure the cause of her cancer. But after her death the department became more health aware and encouraged us to use non toxic cleaning supplies like simple green and installed proper vent systems and collection stations for toxic substances like solvents.
Thanks for a great video. Can you direct me to your double palette recommendation?
Awesome information, what about safflower oil (that I purchase from the grocery store? to clean my brushes
Thank you very much Mary for this valuable lesson. I am from UK. An armature artist.I was under impression that my working place is solvent free but, after listening your guidance I am worried about my safety. I have been painting since 2014 using oil medium. First painting with turp. then dropped that. Second painting with Liquin then dropped that too. Third painting onwards with Zest-it painting medium. Really don’t know how far that too.I use Gamsol to clean brushes first ,then baby oil and then final wash with liquid soap. Oh God, I have cobalt blue , cerulean blue ,Cad Red etc . Which I have to dispose safely. I have maintained good habits of keep covering gamsol container, no eating or drinking during painting, using gloves, keeping window open ,Washing hands etc. etc. but didn’t clear the Waste drum everyday. Oh gosh! Anyway , many thanks for the best guide. ❤️🙏
Thank you for your reply. Sorry I haven’t responded sooner, I just saw your reply today. Glad to hear walnut oil is less flammable than linseed oil. One, “CZcamsr teacher painter” told her viewers that Gamsol paper towels can be thrown in the regular trash. I thought that was strange but it does evaporate faster so I wasn’t sure. It seems like because it dries so fast it would be safer than than walnut oil regarding combustibility. Of course the I know Gamsol fumes are worse. My thought was to throw Gamsol paper towels in a closed container while painting, then dispose of in the outside trash. Also I seem to still have to use Gamsol ,because even though I can get my brushes clean with the walnut oil , I can’t get enough oil out of the brush to control the paint while painting. Now I’m only using Gamsol very little while painting and putting the lid right back on. Then I even have paper towels stacked in a plastic container where I can wipe my brush and I shut the lid on that too. The walnut oil is working good for cleaning brushes at the end of painting but I need two jars to clean well. Thanks for your help.
thank you. trying to work out the least toxic way to switch from acrylic for painting miniatures when I don't have a lot of ventilation and of course people will handle the miniatures later on. its been a slog figuring out how to thin and dry the paint faster, how to clean brushes, and what paints are non toxic vs what might be actually non toxic when you're actually handling the painting regularly. Think I got it figured out but I will say in the miniature world a lot of people are using oil washes full of min spirits with no ventilation and toxic paints.
I don’t use cleaners on my palette- I have an Edgepro easel with a glass palette which I scrape perfectly clean with a razor blade scraper.
Thanks so much, I've been trying to find good information on safe practices for oil painting, this is a gold mine!
Dunno if you guys gives a damn but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all of the latest series on instaflixxer. Been watching with my gf these days xD
@Darian Max yup, I have been using instaflixxer for since november myself =)
@Darian Max Definitely, been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :D
@Darian Max Yea, have been watching on instaflixxer for since december myself :D
@Darian Max Yea, I've been using instaflixxer for months myself =)
How do you responsibly dispose of the sludge at the bottom of your oil? Or turps/OMS/whatever you use to clean your brushes, and rags or paper towels with toxic pigment on them?
is there a brand of walnut oil that you recommend?
Thank you Ms. Gilkerson! A bit of background--I am (knowingly) sensitive to Formaldehyde. A few weeks ago, I fully equipped myself for acrylic painting, expecting it was the "safe and simple" path into artistic painting. As you might guess, upon applying acrylic gesso to a few items in my kitchen, the game "was over" as soon as it started--I reacted to the Formaldehyde, and it was quite a few hours before I felt like myself again. I was not aware that acrylic paint out-gases formaldehyde when it dries. I wish I had seen your video sooner (or that there was better labeling on artist products)! I have been curious whether I might be able to use oil paints, and I intend to proceed along the lines you suggested. I have been curious about Liquin's suitability, and I appreciate the comments you made regarding that too. As you may know, there is almost nowhere else at all providing the sort of detailed information you did in the video. There are no warnings on the products themselves, and even the data sheets on these products are misleading (at least in the sense that they don't mention Formaldehyde at all). Bravo to you for trying to make people aware of some of the health issues associated with artistic materials! Thank you for being proactive about this concern, and Happy painting!
Yes, and I’m in the same situation.For a very long time I could not understand why I react to acrylic. And only one paint had a warning about formaldehyde. this gave me a hint
What do you think of Turpeniod Natural? I use it while I'm painting to clean my brushes. Thank you!
Is the Chelsea Classical Studio Medium Lavender Spike Oil Solvent. Is that solvent the good one u mentioned?
In this video?
If you clean with walnut oil from grocery store won’t you have problems with it if it gets on your painting?
Can you use Dawn dish washing liquid to wash brushes?
Is Ballistol any good as an oil to use ?
What do use for a medium as thinner / oils
Medium for acrylics rather than water
Great conversation, thank you! I found a cold wax that is solvent-free, Zest-It Cold Wax Medium - it works great and it has no smell, yay! I also tried painting with pure walnut oil, which is supposed to be totally nontoxic, but the smell was really strong and made me feel sick. Maybe it was rancid, or maybe it's just me, I'm ultra sensitive - but what other kind of oil would work well that doesn't smell so intense? Maybe poppy seed oil? Thanks!
Zest-it may be solvent free, but there is no evidence that it's non toxic. Be careful.
I think now I will think well if I will continue painting with oils, I have always been careful, I have the solvent covered, I only use it to clean the brushes and cover the vase, and I started using gamblin's solvent-free gel, but I think I will discard several cadmium, cerulean and manganese that I still use... Well, we always learn in the painter's trade, thanks for the video :)
if you want to get rid of your heavy metal colors, please send them to me don't land fill them!
how can i thin the oil paint without solvent? Im allergic to it. The paint i have is quite stiff from the tube. I need an alternative to thin the paint for that initial toning of the canvas and also to make the paint flow and become the consistency of creamy, buttery softness?
Love your channel! I mainly work with acrylics and I wonder if you have any recommendations for waste water? I usually wash everything in the kitchen sink and I noticed splash marks and general staining cause I always miss a spot. My local hazardous waste disposal no longer takes latex paints and they recommend cat litter to soak up/dry out paint and just throwing in the trash. I realize that if I get into oil painting the last thing I need is to have vapors near a gas stove so I tried the Dawn/vegetable oil mix and that seems to work good but again 'waste water' issues. I got some Gamsol, and I wondered if 'little' containers like for plein air would be safe. Surely it can't be any worst than nail polish removers I use?? Exploring your channel, Thank you for posting!
I don't thing nail polish is safe either. I have not worn it in many years. Miss it though!
What about spike Lavendar?
Hi Mary, thank you so much for this fantastic video. I’m an acrylic and gouache painter who’s been trying to transition from acrylic to oil, but the whole reason would be so I can paint more “naturally.” I’ve been searching for content about going solvent free and your video is the first one I’ve found that really hits the nail on the head. So inspiring to listen to you and I’m really more motivated than anything now to get oil painting and painting more economically! I will say, the one concern I have with oils is fire. How would you recommend disposing of rags or paper towels? I’ve read about storing them in water but to me that just delays dealing with the problem, so I was thinking of laying them out flat to dry but not sure where to do this as I don’t have much space indoors or outdoors right now. Thanks in advance!
You would wet them with water and put them in a bag.
If you read the safety data sheets on gamsol vs lavender spike oil, they have the same toxicity levels but lavender spike oil (that you are recommending over gamsol), has skin irritation and allergic concerns and is toxic to aquatic life. The concentration is the issue, so gamsol is actually a better alternative out of the two.
Kimberly Brooks has recently published a book "The New Oil Painting". Proposes a totally solvent-free process.
Wow 😮 talk about taking the pleasure out of painting.... Why are they allowed to create and sell all these toxic products?? Surely hemp or bamboo could be used as a replacement?
Excellent video, thank you for all the great tips. I noticed your website links are broken. Any updates on where to go to find your other information?
Hi! Have you found functional links to Mary's website? I would love to get hold of her double-primary list.. Maybe she made a video on that as well. I'll go through them...
I might also be interested in courses
I switched to acrylics instead of oils, maybe it is the formaldehydes were effecting me?
Why do you mix linseed oil with stand oil and what ratio?
For cleaning your brushes, try ZOTE bar that is found with laundry detergents. It's a HUGE BAR that is under $2 and smells like Murphys oil soap. You will never use Master's again!
If you’re allergic to nut oil, what can you use?
What about using ORGANIC SHAMPOO to clean my oil brushes?
I use simple green to clan them its non toxic
The one place solvent is irreplacement for me is the underpainting / drawing / wash stage. I know it can technically be done another way but it is the easiest, quickest and loosest way to get the composition / element placement correct. What do you do without solvents? You use turp?
Use egg tempera.
I use water soluble oils so for that wash stage you can thin it out with water but shouldn’t do that for any other stage because it won’t look good. Also acrylic washes work great for underpaintings
Turp is a solvent. You can use an acrylic wash or (if you’re painting on a rigid surface) casein paints as an underpainting.
I'm using linseed oil to clean my brushes wile painting. Is there any way to filter the oil to get it close to clean again?
Thanks!
Decantation doesn't work?
Why do you avoid alkyd products? Thank you for the video!!!!
What did the old masters use instead of solvents ?
The old masters had access to solvents, both turpentine and lavender spike oil, though they probably used it sparingly, if at all. The overuse of solvents in oil painting didn’t become widespread until after the industrial revolution.
Also consider that the old masters made their own paints, so they were able to more easily customize the working properties of their paints without solvents. Many good quality oil paints are perfectly workable straight out of the tube without the need for solvents or added medium.
I mix water with a 2-3 drops of water mixable medium in a jar that can be closed. Shake it, and it become like milky water. That's I use for thinning and glazing wamo paint
You need to figure out the ratio of water to medium yourself, it depends on the weather where you paint, the style, etc.
I never mix with only water.
Wamo paint IS oil paint with some emulsifier in it.
When water evaporated it is an oil paint with all the characteristics.
Most mistake made by treating it like acrylic. Too much water mixed into wamo paint.
If you want only use water, use a dropper and mix with a few drops of water into the paint, do not overwater it. Best to use the mix above.
I use a tiny caviar jar to mix it,3 quarter water and 3 drops wamo medium. When you glazing just put more medium into the jar, 2 or 3 drops for every subsequent layer. Shake it. This mix will stay emulsified over time, so u can use it for weeks.
I can’t stand all the oily rags with the walnut oil. How do you solve that problem?
They are much less problematic than solvent soaked rags and solvent filled air. They should be removed at the end of every day and placed outside.
Maybe try another semi drying oil, like soybean or safflower oil.
today with good and even better substitutes available , there is no longer the need to use toxic paints, the cadmiums, cobalts, etc, but people still use them....very strange
People keep promoting walnut oil for cleaning. Yes there are no fumes , but it also will spontaneously combust. It says that right on the back of the can. Then you end up with tons of oily soaked rags. Please explain.
Irene, all oils, including regular vegetable cooking oil, can spontaneously combust. Linseed oil does. Walnut oil is safer because it is much less flammable than linseed oil or solvents. Oily waste like paper towels and rags should be disposed of at the end of every day in the outside waste receptacle.
As a college painting professor I worked with our accrediting body on insuring that the painting studio was as safe as possible. Using walnut oil for cleaning was their recommendation as well, given the toxicity and flammability of solvents. Here's a link to Utrecht Art's resource for handling oily waste:
assets.ctfassets.net/f1fikihmjtrp/5iDZdQrWWKnLxq3Z4l4vW3/618c37a7470492ad9edbf2f7e78af13d/oil_combustion.pdf
Just put the rags inside a container with water.
Here are a few a few tips to add to your excellent presentation:
Washing jars: I use the lower half of water bottles, you can find extras at recyclers. I get the ones with with dimples in the bottom. They gently rub the brush as one swishes.
Pastels, the dust will be all over the place even if one wears a mask it will settle on surfaces and get into you. Something like a downdraft table, and a 3M helmet would be a minimum in any industrial setting. Which is a point. Check OSHA regulations, even if they don't have their claws in to your home studio. One of the changes over the last 40 years is people have become very into their hobbies, and it is not at all unusual for them to spend as much time on a hobby as a 9-5 job. Often the hobby is in a very small room. So concentrations can rise up very easily, OSHA practices, where sensible should be a minimum.
The flip side is also true: Wiping the handle of your brush will a solvent is not going to kill you. Not recommending it, but people seem incapable of being sensible. They either totally ignore a problem, or they act as though cutting one piece of cedar will kill them when the injuries occured in old mills where people sucked in the dust for 40 years before they got cancer.
Did the old masters use artist grade walnut oil or was it salad oil. In woodworking we use regular salad walnut oil, and it dries fine. However, they have food oils that are non-drying with added vitamin E, etc... Those are not good for your paint film, to say the least.
One approach with brushes is to use "brush dip" There are a bunch of recipes, and Geneva sells a commercial version designed for safety. Normally they are just a suitable oil with something safe that delays drying like clove oil added. You dip the brush and set it aside for up to a month. If you want to use it, you can just wipe it off and start painting. Marc Delasio uses a safe medium with LS oil in it and his brushes only need to be washed every week.
Seed/ vegetable oils were developed in the late 19th century as industrial lubricants. So no they masters didn’t use salad oil for painting or salads.
Murphy
A few pastellists claim soft pastels are safe to work with. Those who express concern simply advise to have a trough at the bottom of your easel and never to blow. No respirators recommended. It's confusing.
Hello, guys! Is it true that Mary died of cancer?… I was confused that the links to the site are no longer updated and there are no replies to comments. I went to look for information and discovered that Mary had died...
Yes. I just looked it up. She passed in 2022. She had breast cancer. So incredibly sad to learn of this.
@@cozycrafting At the same time, she promoted non-toxic painting... This is all very surprising for me 😵💫
@@user-cp8js3kr2z maybe the damage was done earlier already. There also could have been other factors affecting her health.
@@thehappypotter9612 Yes, that's possible. I just wonder how evil fate is
@@user-cp8js3kr2z, indeed! In this video she mentions teaching at a college and how they had to make changes to fix the toxic studio environment. A lot of damage could have been done then already. Imagine how unhealthy the years as a student must have been in large university studios. I myself used solvents recklessly, never even covering my solvent containers for many years. Exposure to agricultural toxins and moldy environments made me more aware of how many things can affect my health. I am very fortunate to be in very good health still, but had to make a lot of changes.
Can't believe people put brush in the mouth just to hold them. Fe.
Gee . . . I've been painting for 35+ years using lead white and cadmiums as well as other lethal paint and, lo, look at me . . . I'm still vertical, and at 87 pronounced healthy. Wonder how that happened?
I used oils for almost 30 years and were reckless with solvents, but otherwise lived a healthy life. When I started acrylics and worked in two different studios, I noticed the effect of oils and then could relate oils to a niggling problem I had at the time. I suppose the effects of the oils were balanced out by good habits in most other areas.