Peace, oil on canvas, 4x4', 2010
This blog entry is about oil painting without thinners and solvents. I think it is important information to share not only environmentally but also for the health of artists.
As I have mentioned before, when I began painting with oils it was a huge transition from acrylic paints. I was accustomed to short drying times and easy clean up. I really I didn't know how to use the medium at all despite numerous painting classes at art school, as oil paints were not allowed in the studios at ACAD. Many of my instructors at the time, had switched from oil to acrylic due to chemical sensitivities.
When I first began painting with oils I was using thinners to wash my brushes at the end of each session, stand my brushes while painting, and for cleaning my skin. After a few months of this, one day I was cleaning my arms with paint thinner and notice a tingling sensation. I knew it was from the solvents and I was sure it wasn't healthy. Later I was speaking to a fellow painter and she explained, how to paint without thinners. She suggested using canola oil to stand brushes in (like water in acrylic painting)and detergent based soaps to clean brushes at the end of painting sessions. When painting in this historical manner, you will need rags, loads of rags. Rags are used to remove excess paint between colors and canola rinses, and before final clean up with detergent based soaps and water.
Detergent based soaps also work on your skin, with the only side effect of drying of the skin. Sometimes if I have paint on my face, I will use a cold cream like nivea and a cotton ball to remove oil paint, so I am not scrubbing my face constantly. An example of a detergent based soap is ivory soap, alternatively there are oil brush cleaners that work with water, sold at art supply stores. These cleaners claim to be conditioning and to prolong the life of your brushes. I personally cannot say where or not they work, as I replace brushes frequently.
In regards to rags I don't buy them, instead I use worn sheets, old tea towels, and old clothes that are either stained or torn; first as painting attire, then as rags. This way you are giving these articles another life before tossing them into the landfill. To make your own rags for painting snip, then tear your old garments. tea towels etc. into smaller segments, then you can dispose of your soiled rags regularly to lower the fumes in your studio.
I must tell you during the painting process, there will be a residue of color left in your brushes, even after rinsing in canola and squeezing off the excess paint with rags. Although thinners leave your brushes ultra clean, I have found that working in this way has in fact made my paintings richer in color, by enhancing my color mixing.
