Did you know that you can get non-toxic oil painting supplies!?
I was watching a class through Winslow Art Center the other day. The teacher used some supplies that looked a little different. When a student asked about them, she explained that she lived and worked from a small apartment and wanted to get away from the fumes found in typical oil painting supplies.
I was immediately on the edge of my seat. My health has been especially poor the past couple of years and I’ve been trying to stay away from chemicals myself. I was painting next to a large air filter, but still the idea of non-toxic supplies really caught my attention.
Here’s what she used:
Non-Toxic Oil Painting Supplies
- Safflower Oil as solvent to rinse the paint off her brushes.
- Lavendar and Olive Oil Soap washes and conditions your brushes
- Stand Oil and Lavendar Spike Oil – she’d mix these 50/50 to create her medium that she’d mix with her paint as she worked.
I was so excited about the idea of painting without fumes, I ordered everything on her list before class was even finished. I’ve had the supplies for a couple weeks and just finished my first painting with them.
Safflower Oil as Solvent
The Safflower oil does definitely clean your brushes. I was using odorless mineral spirits before and that stuff does get the paint off SO fast. The oil takes a tiny bit more time, but really it’s not much more. I feel like the trade off is definitely worth it to have a safer option. It did feel a bit different to have your brush covered in oil when you brought it out of the cleaning tank. But I started keeping a cloth next to me to wipe my brushes and the Lavendar Olive Oil soap really worked great to clean up any oil residue. I also felt like my brushes were definitely more soft and conditioned after washing with the olive oil soap, so that was a bonus.
Stand Oil and Lavendar Medium
As far as the stand oil/ lavendar spike oil combo for the medium goes, I thought it was fine. I’ve worked with a lot of different mediums in a lot of different textures, so trying another didn’t feel too different to me. The Lavendar Spike Oil had a lovely scent, and made my painting corner smell like a spa which is a next switch from the stinking fumes that I’m used to.
Over all, I’m really liking the switch. My painting is still drying, but everything looks great so far. Right now I’m only painting practice pieces, so it’s a great time to try out new materials.
Have you ever worked with any of these? What did you think? Have you tried any other non-toxic options?