In university I was warned over and over and over again about painting safety. I ignored all these warnings (and I have mentioned it in this blog multiple times), to only come up with a hypersensitivity to strong smells. It's been an uphill battle ever since I graduated; painting for an hour and having a migraine for 2 days after. Even something as simple as walking through the cleaning isle of a store; I can smell the chemicals and my head hurts.
Precautions I have taken:
Industrial overhead fan in my studio
Wearing a respirator and gloves at all times while working
Keeping the window open
Using "non-toxic oil paints"
Not using any solvents
Keeping my contact with my paint at a minimum
Using aerosols outdoors
Taking breaks between painting sessions
Whining to others that my head hurts + loading up on pain killers
With NaMoPaiMo around the corner (and me already being signed up), for the first time I am dreading February 1st. How can I finish my horse when I am in continuous agony from the thing I enjoy? The obvious choice was to turn to our community for help.
I posed the question; how can I improve the safety of my workspace and lessen the headaches?
I must say... some of the replies were less than promising. Other's weren't quite relevant because I do not use solvents at all when I work with oils, my issues are directly with the paints.
...Find another medium, you may be hypersensitive and there's nothing you can do about that.
There is no such thing as 'non toxic' paint TBH.
Do not use solvents with your oils
Use a respirator and gloves and just open the paints when you are using them.
However, there was something interesting that popped up in the Equine Artist Facebook groups. Carole suggests this:
It might be good to try some tests... work with paints of just one binder (as opposed to by brand) for a spell (linseed oil, walnut oil, safflower oil, etc). That might rule out a specific binder.
Are you using any mediums? And you are not using any kind of solvent? OMS? Turpeniod? Turpenoid Natural?
I paint in oils, I can't imagine not having SOME kind of solvent when oil painting.
Those being ruled out, are you sure it's not the pigments causing issues? That's also a possible culprit, it's not always the binder or solvent.
Smart Carole! It may be the SPECIFIC BINDER that is causing my issues! So I began an investigation of what I had in my oil painting box. What I found made my eyebrows raise.
All of the paints I have are using linseed oil as the binder!
The paints I have been using are Windsor & Newton and are on the "non toxic" list for oils. I actually have Gamblin Oils as well which use Safflower but they are brand new and never opened. So I will take Carole's advice and try my safflower paints to see if they make a difference.
Links regarding the chemistry of oil paints and how they work:
Linseed Oils and Furniture: https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/is-linseed-oil-toxic/
Differences Between Binders: https://www.royaltalens.com/en/inspiration/tips-techniques/binders/
How Paint Works: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/howpaintworks.html
Doing more digging, I found some interesting links that may be helpful to those facing similar issues with health and safety regarding oil paints:
Safe Studio Painting: https://www.sophieploeg.com/blog/safe-studio-oil-painting-without-solvents/
Keeping Yourself Safe With Oil Paints: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-paints-toxic-chemicals-avoid-harming-environment
Art Safety From Princeton University: https://ehs.princeton.edu/book/export/html/334
Create Without Compromise: https://gamblincolors.com/studio-safety/studio-safety-create-without-compromise/
Oil Painting Guide For Schools: https://gamblincolors.com/studio-safety/guideforschools/
Occupational Exposure as a Painter: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304433/
Lavender Spike Oil As An Alternative For Solvents: https://www.naturalpigments.com/artist-materials/spike-oil-painting/
I really hope the few people who read this find this useful! I'm off to test the waters with Safflower oil paint to see if they make a difference! I really really hope I don't have to give up my favourite medium! Wish me luck!