I’m a passionate artist, and I’ve been drawing for awhile now. I’m starting to get into painting though, and I really don’t know which media to use. I love the look of oil paints, but I’ve heard they are toxic (I don’t have a well ventilated room handy) and they are a huge pain to clean up, so which media?
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fauxjanis says
Do all of your underpainting in acrylics because you can get a lot of color on the canvas and they dry fast. Then go back over with the oil. Oils are MUCH better for detail and color. M Graham is non toxic oil paint made with walnut oil and comes in beautiful colors!
earthtriber says
the great thing about acrylics is they are odorless and you can just keep applying them till you get the look you want or the colour you are searching for.. they also dry fast
Puppy Zwolle says
Oil.
It is toxic. But you are not planning on eating it are you? Ventilated means.. an opened window. You don’t need actual active ventilation.
Nomi says
Just a note on ventilation if you do use oils: What you really need the ventilation for is the solvents, not the paints so much because they are much less volatile than the solvent (less fumey). And if you have tendency toward chemical sensitivity an open window may NOT do the trick without at least another open window and an exhaust fan in one pulling in fresh air from the other. You can get one of those small rectangular exhaust fans for less than $20.
But I do not agree that you cannot get as detailed with acrylic paint. If you find they dry too fast, you can add a retardant to slow it down. Many many professional painters make quite detailed images with acrylic paint.
A.J. says
Oil paints make painting people much easier because they don’t dry quickly. They are toxic though. Many paints have lead. Some have manganese and cadium which can seep through your skin and damage your health. This is why you NEVER eat when painting. Not drinking would be smart too. Paints that are a hue of a toxic color still have the bad chemical in them. You can look up more toxic colors online. If you do decide on oils, wash your hands frequently. Also, get a metal container to put any rags with oil medium or solvent in there with water- these rags can spontaneously catch on fire. This container will have to be disposed of properly at the dump. Ventilation is also very important. Solvents can cause all sorts of damage to your brain. Mediums usually aren’t toxic, but there are some that have been mixed with solvents. These are often drying mediums. You can go to dickblick.com and look at a product- it should show an orange warning sign if it is hazardous, or it may have CL or 65. You can go here too . I have a window and fan going. I also usually cover my paintings with a sheet to cut down on the smell because they can still stink even when dry. Oils aren’t that bad with cleaning up though. Just use Dawn dish soap for hands and brushes and it comes right off. Hope I didn’t scare you away from oils- I still think they are the best!