Oil Painting Safety
Painting with oils at home is a great hobby and very safe if you understand your materials!
This guide will help give you the information you need to know.
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Paint: Some people fear that oil paints are toxic- which has some truth to it, but is overstated. Oil paint is typically composed of linseed oil and pigment. Linseed oil is harmless, and different pigments have different traits. Paints today often use alternative pigments to those used in the past to become non-toxic. For instance, Cadmium is a toxic pigment, but if your paint tube says cadmium HUE - it is a safe, alternative pigment to mimic the toxic pigment. You can always google the pigment number, like PB29 (Ultramarine Blue) and ask if it is toxic if you want to be very vigilant. Regardless, even if a pigment has toxic qualities, as long as you don’t eat your paint, get it in cuts, or put it in your eyes, it can’t hurt you. Just avoid eating while painting and wash your hands well after sessions. I like to use a nail brush with dish soap to scrub down after painting before I eat or interact with my baby just to be extra safe. There are no fume issues with the paint itself- unless you have a paint with added solvent or use an alkyd medium, which can have some evaporatives- more on that below.
Solvents: Solvents are used to dissolve the oil in the paint to thin it down, or to clean your brushes. Gamsol is an artist grade solvent that has been refined to be as health conscious as a solvent can be. That said, it does still have some vapors that aren’t good for your health. Vapor buildup: Even though it is odorless and has aromatic solvents refined out (less than 0.005% remaining), concentrated vapors in a very small closed room could irritate your respiratory tract, cause headaches, or induce dizziness. So, use Ventilation: Always use Gamsol in a room with open windows or good mechanical airflow to keep vapor levels low. Never ingest Gamsol- call poison control if you do. Do not pour it down the sink. It must be taken to a waste facility if you ever want to dispose of it. But as it is self cleaning, meaning sediment will settle to the bottom and the liquid will become clear at the top- you can just pour clear liquid into a new jar and then let the old sediment dry and throw that away. (Use an air tight glass jar or metal brush cleaning jar)
**If you would like to avoid any health issues entirely, simply use Eco-Solve from Natural Earth Paint, it is non-toxic (and also can be reused with sediment settling to the bottom). Some artists even skip solvents all together and use oils and soaps alone to clean their brushes. You can find lots of information online.
Spontaneous Combustion: Rags soaked with drying oils (linseed oil, walnut oil, etc.) can spontaneously combust if left crumpled. After painting, simply lay oily rags flat or hang to dry before disposing of them and it won’t be an issue. I like using a bath cloth for cleaning and drying my brushes while painting instead of paper towels. It holds more, has a rough surface for wiping my brush, and is easy to leave out to dry between sessions and then keep using. I have probably used the same one or two for 5 years.
Keep your supplies away from children and pets- if you are highly sensitive or want to be extra careful, I recommend looking at Natural Earth Paint. They only use non-toxic, eco friendly materials. Personally, I use their eco-solve at home 90% of the time since I have a baby around, but I use typical craft store Winsor and Newton oil paints (and other brands as well). Many of these are also non-toxic, just look up the pigment codes to check.
Stains: Oil paint usually comes out of clothes if you catch it before it dries (which takes hours to days!) I just scrub the spot with dawn dish soap and then launder as usual - ideally that same day.
Have fun! Hopefully, this eased your concerns and didn’t plant new ones- honestly, I used oil paints for years (in and beyond university) before I even learned about safety. Just follow safe practices, don’t eat the paint, and enjoy!
Contact
Take care and reach out if you have questions or concerns. Email me at morganjarts@gmail.com or use the question form at the bottom of this page.
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Thursday 29th 6:30-9pm and Sunday Nov 1st 5-7:30pm
Discover how approachable figure and portrait drawing can be in this hands-on charcoal workshop. Play with bold, experimental charcoal techniques as you create modern, expressive artwork to display in your home!
In Charcoal Portraits Oct 29th: Get ready to smudge, layer, erase, and experiment as a face gradually emerges from the page. We’ll explore both additive and subtractive charcoal techniques—building up rich darks, sweeping in expressive marks, and lifting charcoal away to reveal light, form, and personality. You’ll play with shapes, proportions, value, and shadow while learning how to bring a portrait to life through observation and instinct. Beginner-friendly, energetic, and designed for anyone who wants to loosen up, make a mess, and enjoy the magic of seeing a face appear before them. No previous drawing experience needed, and all materials are provided.
In Charcoal Figures Nov 1st: Learn to simplify the body into basic shapes, capture proportion and gesture, and use light and shadow to create form. Starting from loose figure sketches, you’ll learn approachable methods for understanding proportion and movement. We will go through a mix of dynamic sketching exercises designed to help you capture the essence of the human form with energy and style. Finish class with a refined contemporary figure drawing on a larger surface. Receive hands on guidance and feedback from your instructor along with live follow along demos through out class.
Register for one of the classes, or both classes as a series.
All supplies are included for use in class, and no prior experience necessary!
Recommended age 14 and up. Minors to be accompanied by adults with their own tickets.