I am not a chemist, nor do I made claims of being an expert. I am just a simple soul, raised by practical, plain people, farming, small town folks. But if my Granny could look in on art studio classrooms and workshops she would say, "they got no more sense than God gave dirt".
Manufacturers of art materials, just like cigarette companies, will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the real world by the OSHA law of 1989. Some still haven't got the message. You don't need to die, get cancer, be paralyzed, or suffer miscarriages to be an artist. As artists, we shouldn't have to find out about toxic art materials the hard way.
This past couple of years I've lost 3 close, dear artist friends to cancer and brain tumors. They all used solvents, cadmiums; heavy metal pigments. Many students come to me saying they gave up oil painting and printmaking because of the solvent fumes. Another friend and teacher banned all oil painting from his classroom, because his doctor confirmed that his 'total body burden' of solvents had reached a dangerous level. There was no need for any of this. Do you think Rembrandt used Stoddard Solvents? Da Vinci? Solvents for artists are manufactured during the production of gasoline. The main use for some so-called 'natural' solvents is insecticide. Do you ever read the tiny writing on the back of the can. You should.
By the way, why are you putting something that dissolves paint into your paint?
Clean all oil based art materials and brushes, desks, clothes, yourself with baby oil. Does a great job and you will be softer and smell good. Your brushes will thank you. Stop and think: what would happen if you washed your hair in Turpentine or Turpeniod, everyday?
Do not use baby oil to paint with -- it will never dry. Just clean with it. Remember oil paintings don't 'dry', they oxidize -- different process. Try walnut oil, (Rembrandt) poppy seed oil (Sargent) or refined stand oil. Do not ever use linseed oil from the hardware store -- not sound practice. Yes, its cheaper, so what? Like using latex paint instead of gesso. Is that how much you care about your work?
I've taught Painting, Printmaking and other studio courses for over 25 years. My total body burden of solvents has risen to 506.4, in spite of stopping all solvent use in my classrooms many years ago. Where am I getting this? From sharing the room with other people using solvents.
Much information on Toxic Art Materials has come from museum restorers, some of whom put on haz mat suits just to test 19th century paintings. Turns out the same toxic materials that are bad for you are also bad for your painting. I, too, learned (a long time ago when I was young and good-looking) the old 1/3 turpentine 1/3 dammar varnish 1/3 linseed oil as a painting medium. But I got over it. So can you.
Fortunately, I also learned the classical 'fat over lean' techniques and real Old Master methods. I learned silverpoint and egg tempera and encaustic. Do you know that before the tube was invented the great artists of the past started out with a little oil and added dry pigments to that? Oils used were usually whatever was available and handy -- walnut oil was used in their lamps -- was easily obtained and so used for painting. Various vegetable oils, poppy seed oil, and flax (linseed) were used. None of these oils are hazardous unless you are eating too much fried food. Even whale oil was tried. (didn't work well and smelled funny)
Varnishes and solvents came into use later on to protect the surface of the paintings, not to mix into the paint. There was a special day in Paris called "varnishing day" where artists would gather to varnish their paintings (outside -- because of the fumes -- and also, because they were rock stars of the time, to pick up girls). Even a few hundred years ago, artists knew better methods of oil painting than I see today. Sir Joshua Reynolds (look him up if you don't know) is credited with being one of the first to put dammar varnish and turpentine and linseed oil into his paint. He did so to make his paintings look 'old' and so he could charge more money.
Many Old Masters also used whited lead as an under coating. Though it is banned today, some artists still get it made special for them. Lead is not only toxic, a carcinogen and destroys the mind, it is an environmental disaster. We've come to the brink of losing whole species because of lead in the environment. Yet, here are people saying they can't paint without lead. Even when I was in school (a hundred years ago) I learned that lead was bad for the painting. A 'blacker and a cracker' as my teachers used to say. Lead makes paint brittle and darkens and cracks. Is that the effect you are after? If you just bought a painting like this do you care that your investment is not going to last? I've watched a janitor take a whisk broom and pan and sweep up little flakes of 'famous artists' paintings every morning. Collectors might try to become more knowledgeable about painting structure, before they buy $100,000+ paintings. Just because an artist is 'famous' and sells work at high prices, doesn't mean beans.
The art buying public is not known for having any clue as to what materials an artist uses. A 'famous' western artist told me his paintings were 95% acrylic with a little oil on top. He sold them as 'oil paintings' because he could charge higher prices. Why? The art buying public puts a premium value on 'oil painting', because they think that's what Old Masters used. Egg tempera, which is also an old master medium is unknown to the general public.
When Acrylics first were being made for artist's use, my school was used as a testing site. Yes, there were some strange paints to start with - but it was free and art students are always struggling. A friend's painting turned snow white when he carried it out to his car on a freezing Indiana day. When he brought it back in the warm classroom to show us, the colors came back -- but they were all different. Freaky. Another friend painted a terrific painting, we all went home, and the next morning she found her painting all in one piece, but hanging loose on the bottom of the easel -- it had slid off the canvas. Double freaky.
But those days were a very long time ago. Acrylics today are far more permanent, flexible, waterproof than oils. You can build up wonderful textures and not fear cracking. Several brands, such as Golden, Winsor Newton, Pebeo have the same 'look' as an oil painting. People always mistake my acrylics for my oils -- they look the same.
Heavy metal pigments are carcinogens. There is no argument about that. Look it up. There is no 'safe level' of exposure to carcinogens. Cadmium, Cobalt, Lead, etc. are 'heavy metal carcinogens'. Cadmium is not even that permanent. If exposed to UV light (you carry your painting outside to your car) Cadmium changes chemically and becomes muddy and not stable. If you are using oil paint and solvents, the turps alone carry these carcinogens directly through your skin into your blood stream. That's a fact. No doubt about it. Now, how much are you willing to bet your life on Cadmium paint? Bowel cancer is a very unpleasant way to die. Ovarian cancer is a dreadful, painful way to die. Losing a child because you are an artist is pain beyond imagining. The Old Masters did not have Cadmium pigments. 1800's before they existed. There are lots of wonderful new permanent pigments out there. Get a grip on your silly self and modify your palette.
Dick Blick and other responsible catalogues have been good about putting information on CL labeled art materials right in the catalogue. I recommend buying from only catalogues that do this. In the stores, check to see if they have 'California labeling' and yellow tapes on paint tubes. Utrecht does this -- thank them for it. Do not patronize stores that refuse to provide MSDS or cautionary information. You have a right to know. Do not buy CL designated products. There is no need to.
Be considerate of the environment. This old world is not here for you to destroy. Who do you think you are? Do not pour solvents, paint, or glues, down the drains. Federal, State and City laws forbid this. Yet I see college classrooms doing this every day. EPA fines are $25,000 per sink. Do not pour solvents and paint onto the ground either. Do not pour solvents and paint onto newspapers to leach gooey paint out and then throw the mess into trash. The City of Tucson had to get a grant to clean up their arts district. Most solvents have lead in them. Responsible artists don't use these materials -- and those who do should be using the hazardous waste pick up facilities. We don't let gas stations dump used motor oil anymore -- why are artists special?
Become informed. University of California at Davis (the best veterinary school) has lots of information -- they care about the animals' health.
Don't be silly. Just because the workshop, classroom, or magazine article uses toxic products doesn't mean you have to. Using the same materials as a so-called 'famous' artist will not make you famous. Its not the materials, its knowledge and talent and skill that make their art look a certain way. If they won't clean up their act, refuse to pay money to poison yourself. Do not take workshops or classes that use these dangerous materials.
Why are you trying to copy another's style by using the same materials and palette? Develop your own palette. Develop your own style. Learn fundamentals of art and design. Learn proper methods using sound materials to put to your own use. But don't try to use the same brushstroke or color or images of your current teacher. That is the death of any hope of being an artist.
The important thing is to be an individual artist who has something to say and you care enough about our environment and your work to use good information when structuring your painting.
If you don't care, then as Granny would say, "you are dumber than dirt".
Recommended reading: Monona Rossol's "Artists Complete Health and Safety Guide"
