Toxicity of Artist Oil Color - Dos and Don'ts
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- čas přidán 8. 11. 2016
- In this video I talk about the toxicity of oil paint. The dos and don'ts for artists.
For more free videos on painting in oil visit drawmixpaint.com
If you are interested in the paint that I use visit genevafineart.com
Ive tested all kinds of mediums ( including marks recipe) both while I paint and by mixing them in oil paint directly before I paint. I found Grahams Walnut Oil by far is the best medium to use if smell is an issue. It drys slower than lineseed oil, has no smell at all, and drys with a good paint film. Add a very very very tiny drop of oil of cloves to a full 37ml tube of oil paint squeezed into a jar mixed with walnut oil till its smooth and it will extend its drying time even more without smelling 2 strong. You dont need any odorless spirits or turp.
I adore walnut oil. It makes my paints so smooth and I love how it dries slowly. I leave my paint in the tube and mix on the palette because I sometimes want a lean-lean paint and other times I like it particularly fatty. The M Graham paints are fantastic for that. I'd like to try the Geneva line someday.
the french old paint company produces a non toxic liguin and thinner, - no turp, or any kind of solvent, - its called sennelier green oil, and is a great product to us who is allergic to any kind of solvent...
I believe it's eco friendly, but still toxic IIRC.
thirty years ago I spent a week in a portrait workshop where ten people had open cans of turp and there was no ventilation. I got sick the third day but stuck it out and haven't been able to be around solvents at all since then... had to develop a lot of acrylic workarounds that are a real pain. This video is a get out of acrylic jail card that I've been waiting for... why did it take my youtube suggestions so long to pop it up???
I never use any form of solvent as I can’t stand the smell. Linseed oil is all that is needed to thin paint and to clean out brushes - if I want the brushes really clean I use soap and cold water, works great.
I thought you couldn’t use soap and water for oil paint?
@@agfilmwriter469 ; It works a treat - use either washing up liquid or a bar of cheap soap. Cold water seems to be better. The late Cornish painter Borlase Smart mentions this in his book on landscape painting.
@@agfilmwriter469 you can use oil-based soap to clean the brushes. They come in bars.
No wonder I can charge astronomical sums of money for my paintings. It is a dangerous job. Now I feel so much better about that summer I worked as a plumbers assistant. My job was to mix dry asbestos with water, climb inside a furnace and coat the walls of the combustion chamber with the asbestos cement. What really scares me is that I have been oil painting since I was 9.
Thank you all, your videos have been so helpful, I was a beginner and have finished an oil painting, it has turned out so, so beautiful.
Forced air followed by a ventilation fan is the best way to combat vapor related fumes. The forced air turns over the fresh air in the room generally, and the ventilation fan provides a path for the forced air to follow, even when the fan is off. Another good design feature for ventilation is to capture the air from the floor level of the room, in order to pull the compounds out from where they rise first, because they are actually heavier than the surrounding unaffected air. Force air into the top of the room, pull air from the bottom. This is the way paint mixing and storage rooms operate in auto body shops. The same is true for their paint booths.
When dealing with "toxicity" of materials, the most toxic part of painting oils is anything that has an "evaporative" component. Evaporative components can be paint pigment related, but 99% of all pigment issues are related to dust produced by the dry pigments, before introduced or while mixing them into a medium. Ingestion issues I regard as separate, due to the fact that I am not a spray or toddler or have children around my studio. Solvents, by far are the primary issue when dealing with oil paints. Some paints contain mediums which HAVE solvents in them, flash alcohols, ethyl alcohols, and things which can accelerate evaporative chemical agents which have their own issue, all leading to toxic air in the studio. These have breathable toxins, and these solvents have instant absorption into the bloodstream because they bind chemically into the moisture inside your body thru your lungs, being carried by the air as a compound on water vapor in the air itself. The vapor is often produced when the air off the paint mixture or the solvent itself is pulled into the air by a recombinant process ending in a more stabile form of the solvent combining it as a compound on water vapor already in the air itself. This is why some days the paint will dry faster when it is warm and humid outside. Consequently, the worst conditions are moist warm air in the studio, when dealing with solvents. This intensifies the amount of harmful vapors carried into the lungs.
That was helpful. Think I will stick with watercolor for the moment.
It always makes me a little crazy in the Bob Ross videos when he cleans off his brush - after using a cadmium pigment - by dipping it in spirits/turps and then banging it back and forth on the easel. A marvelous way to send pigment particles into the air.
Could be one reason he died of a type of cancer.
It's not good practice: but Ross died of lymphoma, which he contracted, I understand, before he really got into heavy duty painting and certainly before he started his tv shows - before then, it was under control. Always hard to link a specific illness with the use of products - but still very good reasons to be extremely careful with hazardous materials. I've watched a few Ross videos, and instinctively flinch when I see him doing that!
You are right, people immediately assume things just because of their own fears. Thanks for shut up those ignorants around.
Wm Annis didn't he die from cancer
his brand of paint is non toxic, old guy
Thank you Mr. Carter, Great instruction video ))
I think you will find that any paint with lead in it should also not be sanded or sprayed in the air just as you cautioned about the cadmium paints. Thank you for covering this important topic. Lucille
Good discussion about toxicity. Thanks for compiling and sharing your thoughts.
By the way I have just placed an order of some of your colours. Can't wait to use them
Educational! Thank you very much for sharing
Thanks for this video I was going to start painting in oil but I dont know how to paint even though I can draw, now I know It's not good enough for my health the country where I live I can't get that kind of products in order to paint in oil safely so I will start to paint with Acrylics, I love your paintings! Saludos desde Venezuela!
Thanks for the great video! Right now im painting in the same room that im sleeping in and I have understood that this can be very bad for me, especially since im using turpentine. I have set up a fan blowing out of my window and will probably buy gamsol because of this video. I also let my pantings and everything i have used to paint sit in another room when not painting. I was wondering what else i can do, i really want to get good at painting and this seems like the only option right now but this video got me worried. Thanks again!
i use watermixable now,, tho i have a load of traditional paints, i'm lucky much was given to me by those who have given up, for me having asthma its the ventiiation , fumes that bother's me, but i'll sort a safe ventilated area,, cos no way am i gonna waste the traditional paint.
as far as gloves go i dont see harm in using them, but if i dont have any ill not worry and just paint, as u get better, you get very little on your hand's , usually !! ;) i haven't painted for 4 month's due to moving house etc, cant wait, this is a great channel.
Thank you. Regarding mediums, Maimeri has now a Eco Oil Medium and Sennelier has a new series of mediums called Green for Oils.
I make my own black oil (linseed and white lead carbonate) by far the best oil painting medium I've ever used.
great info as usual. made that quick easel by the way!!👌
i always paint in a basement, no windows. i usually pass out halfway through
That just hit my funny bone ... LOL LOL
😂😂😂
Cool story bro
Do you paint in the dark?
Weird flex but ok 🤷🏻♀️
Great tutorial, thank you
Very useful information . Thank you very much
Thanks for the video, as always excellent video. I’ve clove oil at home and tried it to thin out my oils even before I heard about its use from you. And it made my paints take longer to dry. Also it beads up usually when I use it now. Why do you think is that?
Thank you so much very informative..
Just some notes I think you'll find interesting:
- Winsor and Newton Flake White is made out of titanium and zinc white, containing lead based driers, not pigment. Their regular Titanium White contains driers (lead based too, says so on the label), you can smell it. Very bad, stiff paint, in my opinion.
- There's been research about odorless mineral spirits affecting the durability of the oil paint film, even the artist grade ones. Couldn't find more information on that, but it's worth mentioning.
- On the cadmiums: even the cadmium used in paints is dangerous, although it's classified as B in toxicity (lead carbonate is C and non-toxic pigments are A), because it only has health effects at long term ingestion (the cadmium atom of the sulpho-selenide compound of the pigment can ionize, killing cells).
Great videos, keep up!
So far as I know - Winsor & Newton's products on sale in the USA may differ from those available in Europe - W & N Flake White is a Hue or substitute colour, containing (as you say) Titanium and Zinc White. I don't believe that their paint contains any lead-based material at all, because if it did it couldn't be sold in tubes in Europe: we can only buy lead-based paint in tins, or in cartons for use with a glue-gun. This video is much less alarmist about lead chromate as a basis for paint than the authorities over here would be: some countries don't permit lead to be used at all (Norway and Sweden, for instance). This is a major frustration for traditional oil painters, who have to rely on Titanium, which has a tendency to kill colours mixed with it, or worse, Titanium/Zinc ... I have a source for lead white, and for unmixed Titanium - Zinc may present all sorts of problems in time because of instabilities in the paint layer, particularly when used on a flexible surface like stretched canvas.
Robert Jones B ffgb
Robert Jones W&N's products which containg zinc also contain a very small percentage of lead - as you can read on the label. That's unavoidable and has to do with zinc extraction procedures. A company's representative told me via email.
I don`t know which is the exact function of the lead to be honest, I just always thought it should be a drying agent. I have a titanium white tube of W&N in my hand right now and I can affirm to you that there`s a label in the back indicating the presence of lead
It must have changed in the last six years. Last time I was in the art supply shop I noticed the W&N oil whites had labels indicating the presence of cobalt.
I went over to the Michael Harding display instead.
Excellent video! Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Very educational!
Thank you!
Really useful information. Thank you.
I spent the last 40 years working in steel mills, oil refineries, chemical plants,landfills,water and sewage treatment plants and breathing construction dust all day.
Spent 5 years as a machinist breathing smoking cutting oil all day.
Made pottery on the wheel for 35 years mixing and spraying clay and glazes and firing raku method.
People are worried about some oil paint fumes?
In other words I think I'm screwed..
John Smith A lot of pigments are made from heavy metals that are easily absorbed through the skin.
Stop and be mindful and careful is all.
Think a charcoal cleanse may help, loads of options.
Some paint like phatalo blue or phatal green are cancer causing and absorb through skin , so use glove . Use cooking oil or morphy's oil in cleaning your brushes is helpful too.
Sir, did you invent the color checker, or is that a device used by the old masters? Because you are a Genius! I have watched probably half of your videos by now and it makes me so curious to know. Thanks!
Hi Mark. great video, I have a question. until I'm able to buy some Geneva paint, is it possible to make your Slow Dry medium without solvents? by maybe adding more refined linseed oil to make the medium thin enough? I will be painting Alla prima exclusively so no fat over lean worries.
thanks
very good information...
Thank you!
Very informative, thank you. What’s your take on paints that contain Cobalt? Do you have recommendation for a good alternative to Cobalt Blue?
Thanks very interesting and informative.
Their are mediums and thinners special formulated to work with water soluble oil paints (Linseed, stand oil and so on) to keep your paint workable for days. Just use the water for cleaning your brushes only.
Hoping you are ok with all the extreme weather down there....
Eco House neutral thin is amazing.
You mentioned clove oil as a medium? So I could use this to thin my paint? And what about lavender spike oil to do the same?
for the stain you could use acrylic colors, i would say. at least it's what i do. some boiled lin seed as medium (2-4 days). and so then there is only the varnish that you must take care of.
Do you use the same medium throughout your painting? Should you use a liquin to start and clove to finish? Using solvents for stains Dries fast and thick over thin. Should You use slow over fast too?
Good info. Thanks!
Thanks, very informative.
Very informative. Thanks
I think there was someone in our course that had to go home, because they were feeling ill. I wonder if it had anything to do with the 8 open jars of turpentine in a room with no ventilation for 4 hours.
very informative. i'm also wondering about toxicity to aquatic life. i just discovered zinc white, even when mixed with titanium, is toxic to the water critters... would be interested in using Geneva titanium, but what's the SDS for aquatic on it. Thx! great videos, good teaching.
Thank you for info.
I know this might be a very basic question, but why shouldn't we use oil on the first layer(foundation) of the painting? I have heard that using pure solvent will reduce the stability of the paint and make them last shorter. Is this true?
Mark mentions modern cadmium pigments being safe to ingest and how they basically pass through the body. Does anyone know when they started to be manufactured this way? Has this always been the case? I have several tubes of old Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton cadmium colors that I use and was wondering about their safety.
Thank you for all the information. I use alkyds at the moment. Almost every day for a few hours. I like their stiffness, the relatively low cost and I especially like the fast drying time. It doesn't sound as if there is an ideal alternative for me but it seems that I ought to take more precautions, particularly with the problem of the fumes. I haven't noticed any symptoms in the many years that I've been painting full time (irritation, dizziness etc.), but that may be due to the brain damage! Proper ventilation is a challenge.
From what little I know of these things I might guess that cumulative detrimental health risks were more of a problem with respect to the heavy metal toxins. Any view/knowledge about that?
While the presenter is right to point out the need for ventilation, you are using very little substance, and W&N alkyds are certainly relatively safe provided one is normally careful not to ingest etc. You would be at far more danger from Turpentine or other vehicles.
%0 years ago I was at WM. and Mary their art dept. as a student and found that my asthma would not allow me to use oils or alkyds as the out gassing of the various fumes would have life threatening issues Is poppy seed or safflower oil based paint safe I wonder and can one use either of those two oils to thin those paints. I have used acrylics and water colors for many years but I miss the buttery feel of applying oils.
Hey DMP, do you have videos on these more technical topics you elude to? I have found, the more I know, the better I can understand why things are happening and can trouble shoot problems way quicker.
As an adult, I am really starting to figure out how everything fits together. I see now how math and science and chemistry all fit into art, music, food, nature, pretty much it is all puzzle pieces. I think it is a shame they don't, or at least didn't, take the kids that were good with art and gear their other, core subjects, to show causation and interlinking theory with art and music. I might have paid more attention in chem. class. For most my adult life I have taken college classes on different subjects that interest me and they always flow into each other. I love that! I just wish I had figured this out in Jr. High, ya know, when I didn't have to pay for classes! So, I'm thinking a chemistry video about paint would be very good. Oils and acrylics. Why do they react in certain ways to different oils, solvents? My brain would love to know.
your brain uses oscillators to group sounds and colours into a spectrum according to their frequency ...
What to do with palette scrapping that has cadmium based paints in it ? I do not wish to store those and use them later. I have no access to hazardous waste disposal facility. The best thing i can do is trash it in to the dustbin. What do you suggest ?
hi Mark what brand of mineral spirits do you use?
I was wondering if one day we will be able to get Geneva paint but not mix with the medium.
Is having a window open when using white spirits to clean brushes of thin the paint enough ventilation as this is what I have been doing for years now and I am worried it's not enough?
Enjoyed the video
You did not talk about handling the paint and if there is danger there. I see many artists now wearing medical type gloves to keep the paint off their hands. Is that because of the solvents in the paint that can be absorbed through the skin, or because the pigments can be absorbed throught the skin and are toxic in that way? Maybe it is just to keep their hands clean. What are your thoughts on the need to wear latex or nitrile gloves?
Hello, thanks for videos
What about Water Mixable Oil paint ? ( cobra, artisan, etc..)
czcams.com/video/w2Bcbh4z-Og/video.html
Winsor Newton 'flake white' is actually some form of titanium and zinc mixture.
I use spike lavender oil as my solvent, its less toxic and I actually like the smell. I recommend looking into it if you haven't already.
There is info out there about the Chelsea Spike Lavender fraud. It does
not contain lavender spike and is toxic. Real lavender spike would cost
$500 per quart. This 'spike oil" by Chelsea contains many things, some
as toxic as turpentine which is very hard on liver and kidneys when
airborn. Go to tadspurgeon.com
for more info and learn true non toxic painting requires no solvents
whatsoever. also for the pdf on the constituents of Chelsea spike
lavender...found here: www.tadspurgeon.com/content.php?page=contact
@@sageweniger2212 thank you for this! I've been using Chelsea Spike Lavender Oil now for a few months and have never had as many health problems as I do right now. I knew something was up but couldn't find any info anywhere online. Time to research...
@@amandasandaful chelsea spike oil is not genuine. Found on line that chelsea admitted to using synthetic compounds.
Two questions - one, I've been told that Oil of Cloves can cause paintings to yellow quite quickly; is this your experience, or is your oil treated in some way to minimize this? And I understand that rectified spirits of Turpentine might be better for the paint (if not for my lungs) than mineral spirits, because of its resinous nature (i.e. it helps to bind the paint together). Do you have thoughts on that? I know that I've used White Spirit in the distant past, a crude form of mineral spirits, and the stench made me feel ill and caused my throat to close up - do you think odourless mineral spirits are any safer than the smelly stuff? (Sorry, that's three questions.)
Odourless mineral spirits might be better when it comes to irritation and what not, but is not safer. They still emit toxic fumes.
Does the winsor e newton (all colors) artist quality, has no fumes so? Thanks
How about using water mixable oils for staining and first washes, and then moving to regular paints using just linseed oil as medium.
So THAT'S what's wrong with me.
You know what's weird. There are no warnings at all on my liquin bottle. I live in Canada, not sure if that has anything to do with it.
Hi Mark. I went to Geneva Fine Art and all of your oil paint is sold out. Can you tell me when you might get more in stock?
So basically would I be safe if I use pure oil paint with no solvents and also no cadmium? Could I prepare my canvas with acryllic and the use my paint on top of that? Would there be a way to clean my brushes safely as well? I've never painted but I would really like too, I love the look of oild paint but acryllic not so much. However I have no need to paint in my life(other than I just want ti) so it makes no sense to put my health at risk(especially my brain) just to be able to paint.
I've just discovered your channel today and I've loved it! Would you consider making a similar video in the future but kind of giving a "path" for people like myself that aren't professionals but would like to paint with oil with no risks taken(no solvents, heavy metals, fumesetc)?
Hi, you can also clean your brushes with artist's soap. But you need to look up the health notes there as well, I don't know them.. For me personally normal hand soap bars have made the job as well with oil colours!:)
W&N no longer make genuine lead white, it's titanium plus zinc whites.
Why is it that when you make your own French ultramarine oil paint it is not as luminous as w@n's.
What is the best oil ground for canvas?
I am definitely going to be more careful. I am a messy painter and I get it all over my hands. I usually thin my paint with mineral solvent and the fumes are bad.
Doh, ive washed paint off my hands with turps.. probably been thinning it into my blood
I think I might try acrylic or water colour then....
Thank you
How interesting ! Thank you :-)
what about the cadmium in pastel dust? Is that ok? Should one wear a mask while painting or is it not a big deal?
Cesar C.T. For instance, there may be cadmium red in a pastel I buy. Is that ok to use without a mask or should I be concerned about dust? I don't want to be paranoid if I don't have to...
How do you go about disposing your solvents and used paper towels when cleaning up? In many painting classrooms they have special barrels and trashcans for that sort of thing, and I have always hesitated on painting in my own home because I'm not sure on how to properly dispose of everything.
Bury them in the ground
Air dry the paper towels. For your solvents, collect them in a separate container and take them to a waste disposal site. Do NOT put them down the sink or toilet.
@@devyadav3273 I hope you're joking. Those toxins will migrate down into the ground, eventually into the water table. Collect in a jar or a can with a tight-fitting lid. Contact your municipality's waste station, and take it there for them to dispose of it safely.
Wood stove.
Hi, I use Turpenoid (mineral spirit category), I paint in a room with 2 windows open and sometimes a fan. Is this okay to do?
Open windows help. Gamsol is a less toxic option then Turpinoid.
Ty
I clean my brushes with olive oil then scrub with Dawn liquid. no fumes
I use UNSCENTED soaps or Dr. Bronners natural.. Dawn has tons of PER FUMES !!! It makes me ill. maybe you can try Dr. Bronners.. It has natural scents of pure essential oils and it cleans WELL. ps Olive oil is hard to wash off so maybe also you can try coconut oil as it washes off so much easier.
Someone suggested Vaseline. It works!
Do you know anything about US art supply oil paints?
What about spike lavender oil as a solvent replacement? Have you tried this?
There is info out there about the Chelsea Spike Lavender fraud. It does
not contain lavender spike and is toxic. Real lavender spike would cost
$500 per quart. This 'spike oil" by Chelsea contains many things, some
as toxic as turpentine which is very hard on liver and kidneys when
airborn. Go to tadspurgeon.com
for more info and learn true non toxic painting requires no solvents
whatsoever. also for the pdf on the constituents of Chelsea spike
lavender...found here: www.tadspurgeon.com/content.php?page=contact
There is info out there about the Chelsea Spike Lavender fraud. It does
not contain lavender spike and is toxic. Real lavender spike would cost
$500 per quart. This 'spike oil" by Chelsea contains many things, some
as toxic as turpentine which is very hard on liver and kidneys when
airborn. Go to tadspurgeon.com
for more info and learn true non toxic painting requires no solvents
whatsoever. also for the pdf on the constituents of Chelsea spike
lavender...found here: www.tadspurgeon.com/content.php?page=contact
Wow.. this is actually startling info!!
@@stayalivesweetheart art treehouse has the real deal spike lavender. I have been using it and it is great. Although I am chemically sensitive it seems okay to use in small quantities. I had to protect my hands from it though as it caused some irritation.
Isn't odorless mineral spirits just as toxic as regular MS or Turps, its just that they have an additive that makes it so we don't notice a nasty odor (but the toxins are still coming off the liquid)?
I would be interested in your views on acrylic paints. They, of course, have additives in them. The more expensive ones seem less smelly than the cheaper student grade paint so maybe those are better?
hi where do you the pigment from i live Australia and i want to make my own paints cant get yours here cheers gerry
Art For All Langridge are an Australian company that not only make their own paints but also they sell pigments. I know it was three years ago that you left the comment but I only just saw it today while listening to this talk hope that helps.
When using alkyd based paint,what medium should I be using?
Peanut butter
Thanks
So, painting with tube paint and linseed oil in my bedroom is safe ?
(I only use paint thinner and varnish outside.)
Did u just come straight to the comments to ask that question or did you actually watch the video and for some reason still don't know the answer to your question?
Shagga perfectly safe
The answer, I believe, depends on what type o "tube paint" you have.
il Caravaggio so u commented last year so I’m guessing you found out so I have the same question is it safe? Also do you know what solvent is lol I’m dumb is it to clean brushes...?
And I am twelve so I’m probs a bit young for the toxic stuff but I reallyyyy wanna oil 🎨 paint can u just paint straight on to a primed canvas? Or do u actually need paint cleaner stuff and linseed oil..?
What if my best work is done in a vacuum
Some of these comments are stupid. My grandpa smoked for 50+ years and never had lung cancer. Does that mean smoking doesn’t increase your likelihood of lung cancer?
the red paint tastes like cherries!
Hey Mark, I'd love to see how you frame some of your art. Do you prefer a certain style of frame? Or a certain colour? The only painting of yours that I've seen in a frame is the portrait of Bush. Everything else seems to show only the actual paintings themselves.
sooth15
If oil paints don't have any warnings on them does that mean they are safe to use without ventilation? I have two kids and a cat and just wanna make sure it's not toxic. I dont use solvents
Can you mix oil paint with water to make it more spreadable
Connor 11304 winsor newton makes water mix able oil paints...also schminke makes an additive to turn regular oil paints into water mixable
I've been using water miscible oil paint because I have asthma. Is that a problem?
How do they differ? Other than water solubility
@@misaelortega653 I used them in a travel to other countries where getting solvents for oils was a problem, or what was available was too strong and "industrial" smelling. They worked fine for those little sketches I did but those oil paints looked more like water color paintings, a bit weak and faded looking. Not juicy like traditional oils, which I am using now mostly for plein air landscapes, but good if you want to use oils but can't for health reasons.
I love the smell of oil paints. No wonder some of my brain cells have died. I noticed that the Geneva stain smells completely different than other oil paints.
I am very sensitive to chemicals and solvents and so was going to try water mixable oils. Lots of people have said they feel just like regular oil paints and take the same amount of time to dry. Your video seems to suggest otherwise. Are they really that fast drying? I do take a long time on my paintings so if they dried out in a couple of hours I would waste a lot of paint and have to keep re-mixing colours etc. Also do you know if the water mixable mediums are as toxic as the regular oil mediums? Enjoying your videos, thanks.
I did that and I am getting sick on them so I agree with him. I will use up what I got and move on to something else. I asked above what is the best for me. I have celiac and seems chemicals make me sick as well.
Celtic Barb Try gouache, casien, or acrylic which are all water soluble and they still give you very similar results to oil.
Jon Rios Thank you for the reply.
I don't like them as much but for the Golden Open Acrylic brand and I will get more of them..
I love oils. I am trying the higher quality oils now. I had some but kept them for good but now I will use them for all painting. So far I think I am doing better with them for they don't have chemicals in them that should not be there like driers or stuff to make oils be mixable with water. I did not like how that paint felt anyhow.
I was wondering what Brands would be the best that might be thicker and have walnut oil or something of the like for base. Linseed often yellows. I don't like that.
I use gouache and acrylics at the moment to avoid oils but they both dry super fast and I cannot do the same techniques as I want to try with oils with the longer open time. I like them for abstract colourful work but not for a more realistic approach. I have tried mediums that keep the open time longer but they don't work as well as I'd hoped. I also find gouache frustrating because of the chalky colours and also the massive colour change. Plus they dry almost instantly. What chemicals are in the water mixable oils? Are they very toxic? Have you given the Geneva paints a try?
The Craft Cuckoo
You can buy Golden Open Acrylics they stay wet for a long time. Not oils but better than regular acrylics. I am going to them for my acrylics and they don't make me sick.
I like oils best thought for the blending and effects. No I have not tried Geneva. Right now I am starting to use Winson and Newton's expensive one's. I am not sick. I use baby oil to clean and other such cleaners and walnut oil. Nothing with toxic chemicals in them. The water soluble oils have to have chemicals in them to make the water soluble. I also don't like how they paint. They are passable yes but the feel and action of the paint can be crappy. I can't draw a thin line easily. Otherwise they are ok if you like the feel of them. I kind of don't.
All the cheap paint has the toxic fume smell. I usually open a tube up and if I can smell anything I don't buy it. Gumbacher Pretested seems ok but don't have a lot of them so I am unsure of it. Alexander paints (unless they changed the formula) seems to be ok. The thing is only one brand I can buy locally. The rest I have to order on line or go into the city to buy it.
Do not get alkyds as they have a drier in them and that makes me sick the worst.
I asked others what is best to use. I want to get to a brand and stick to it. I guess I will have to buy a tube of each. I hear Gamblin paints are good as well but have not tried them. I am tired of spending money for paints then find that they make me sick. I did that with the water soluble paints they make me sick. Not as sick as the cheap toxic oils but still sick. I am doing a painting so I packed all of them up and put them in a drawer and went to my expensive paints and so far it seems ok.
How do you mean ventilation? Is a open window enough? Thanks, by the way, very helpfull video!
I put the lid back on my jar of solvent until I done painting, sometimes I wrap my brush s overnight with Saran Wrap, open windows yes, or install a suction fan, or box fan in suitable climate, also my rags and paper towel place in garbage on porch.
Lead white might be toxic, but it's the most archival of all white paints.
The toxicity of paints, medium, thinner etc. is way overstated. The quantities used in oil painting are of next to no concern even with daily use. Discernible health impacts require use on a contractor/industrial scale. e.g. several gallons of paint and thinner on a daily basis. The only things mentioned which are in fact dangerous is sanding and using a spray gun. But this is true for all paints.
Is it a good idea to stain the canvas with Acrylic paint? It dries super fast and doesn't have that strong smell.
i think so
Nina Sue I stained and did the under painting in acrylic when I did a portrait of my late step father last week, it works beautifully ( especially if you're impatient like me and don't want to wait a week for your under painting )
I thought acrylics gave off formaldehyde while drying
Just make sure your acrylic layer is thoroughly dry before doing oil paints over it. Prevent cracking of your paint.
Or just use Gamblin Galyked it’s odorless and it does the same thing as liqin original.
I made the mistake of biting my brush handle as one might bite a pencil- bad. I stuck the wrong end in once. ONCE.☠
I’ve done this too 😭