Cambria, California
Oil on canvas 5 x 7 2015
This is a painting done based on a photograph that my husband took while in Cambria. The ocean there has a lot of jutting rocks that look beautiful. Much of the rocks and landscape look grayish but there are also some areas of bright green growth on the ground. There are also some interestingly shaped trees. The wind from the ocean has blown them into interesting shapes.
I just recently began painting with oil paints again. I had not painted with oils in over three years until I started back up about two weeks ago. If you paint with oils you are likely to have used turpentine, mineral spirits or something similar that gives off harmful vapors. I usually use these types of products to clean my paint brushes and and to thin the paints while painting. These products have warnings on them about harmful vapors. After about one week of being back into oil painting and using turpenoid (the product I was using) I noticed a lot of acne on my face and neck. I have very sensitive skin.
I decided to see if there are any alternatives to thin paint and/or clean brushes that don't involve products that are bad for my health. One product I found that doesn't say "harmful vapors" on the label is Medium W by Schmincke. It can be used both for thinning the oil paints and to aid in cleaning the brushes.
The painting above is my first attempt at creating an oil painting without using any turpentine or mineral spirit type of product. The Medium W handles in an oily way more similar to thinning with linseed oil than turpentine, however, with not quite as oily a brush feel as linseed oil. Overall, I find it to be an excellent substitute for the more harmful products. I'm not sure if it contains anything that would be harmful to handle over time but it does not contain any warnings on the label.
In the future I may try other products if I find others that do not contain harmful vapors or other ingredients that would be harmful to health.
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