Solvent-Free Painting
What's solvent-free paint? It's paint you can make yourself from ingredients often found in your pantry, things so pure and clean you can eat most of them! With a few exceptions. . . (don't eat borax, marble dust, or slaked lime. . .they're so inert they probably won't kill you, but they sound very hard to digest!) Other ingredients are quite digestible: milk, eggs, homemade cheese, walnut oil. My theory is, if you can digest it, it's less likely to hurt you. It goes without saying it would be best to avoid painting with substances you're allergic to.
Who likes solvent-free paint? People who care about the environment, people who have chemical sensitivities or those who have otherwise delicate health. People who don't own a loft, a studio or a well-ventilated garage or a well-lit basement. People who like to paint safely in the comfort of their own kitchen or bedroom with the freedom to move their project to the best natural light. People who don't want to spend vast fortunes on art materials. People who would rather reach into a pantry to move on with the next phase of a project than jump into the car and drive back to the art store yet again. People like me, or perhaps people like you.
Here are my running notes on some basic formulas for solvent-free paints and paint mediums:
Beeswax Paint
Borax and Quark Putty Medium (my happy accident!)
Beeswax and Marble Medium
I'll have more on the following soon:
Borax and Quark Paint
Quark and Oil Glaze
Borax and Skim Emulsion
Oil Paint
Pastel
These materials can all be used together in a happy sort of compatible family for media mixing. Or you can use them separately, or in a variety of combinations. There are some general rules to follow; I learned to keep with the same medium (in other words, don't mix Tad's putty formula with mine once you start a painting)! But it's not rocket science.
Who likes solvent-free paint? People who care about the environment, people who have chemical sensitivities or those who have otherwise delicate health. People who don't own a loft, a studio or a well-ventilated garage or a well-lit basement. People who like to paint safely in the comfort of their own kitchen or bedroom with the freedom to move their project to the best natural light. People who don't want to spend vast fortunes on art materials. People who would rather reach into a pantry to move on with the next phase of a project than jump into the car and drive back to the art store yet again. People like me, or perhaps people like you.
Here are my running notes on some basic formulas for solvent-free paints and paint mediums:
Beeswax Paint
Borax and Quark Putty Medium (my happy accident!)
Beeswax and Marble Medium
I'll have more on the following soon:
Borax and Quark Paint
Quark and Oil Glaze
Borax and Skim Emulsion
Oil Paint
Pastel
These materials can all be used together in a happy sort of compatible family for media mixing. Or you can use them separately, or in a variety of combinations. There are some general rules to follow; I learned to keep with the same medium (in other words, don't mix Tad's putty formula with mine once you start a painting)! But it's not rocket science.