Studio Safety

[@AkiAmeko]

As an art education student, this has been an EXCELLENT resource for me to study for Praxis. My art classes never went super in depth with how to properly dispose of and store materials (the one I took only touched on oil briefly) and this video makes a ton more sense. Excellent video and great job!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks so much for the nice comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@lizettekristine6360]

This information helped me tons for my FTCE Art Ed exam, as well! Even as an artist, I have been shy of oils because the safety issues have always seemed a bit unclear to me and you clarified a lot of my concerns! Thank you!

[@cedainty]

Hi Jason! I've been going thru your wonderful videos. This one may be the MOST important of them all. We need to respect our tools, whether they be artistic or functional. I have seen the results of spontaneous combustion. A historic house two doors away burned in the middle of the night because the owner had rags from furniture refinishing stored in an upstairs room. Keep up your good work. You are an excellent teacher who understands the struggles of novices such as I.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks so much for the nice comment! I'm glad you found this video useful. I agree that studio safety is so important. It just takes a few precautions that make all the difference.

[@Delta888ful]

Hi Jason! Has the information in this video changed much since you last made it? Also, I was confused about the Gamsol thinner. I think you said you add a bit of it to your Dammar varnish plus pigment -- but not if you're using a standard medium. Is that correct? And, can you elaborate which mediums you're talking about? I'm not sure which mediums contain Dammar varnish...come to think of it, I didn't realize any of them contained Dammar in them! Sorry if this is a stupid question...I'm still getting acquainted with the ins/outs and dos/don't in oil painting. Thank you!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! Just to clear it up, Gamsol (which is petroleum based) can not be used with Dammar. If you are making a medium that contains Dammar varnish then the solvent must be genuine turpentine. The traditional oil painting medium that I sometimes use is a mixture of linseed oil, dammar varnish and genuine turpentine. You can make a medium with Gamsol however if you leave out the dammar. Usually equal parts Gamsol and linseed oil will work fine. I mostly keep Gamsol in the studio for cleaning my brushes and my palette. Hope that helps! :)

[@Delta888ful]

@@walcottfineart5088 Absolutely helps, thank you! ...and for the quick response :)

[@AlexandraJavier]

I subscribed to your channel I think two months ago. I never regret it. I'm always learning something from you. You're magnificent :)

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thank you so much for the nice compliments on my channel! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. :)

[@vernonsteinkamp1088]

Safety, excellent subject. linseed oil has been a big threat to me ever since my next door neighbors garage burned down from linseed rags.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Yes those oily rags really need to be disposed of carefully! The key is not to compress them in a pile. I am surprised how many artists don't know about that. I learned it in art school when I took Painting Workshop. Thanks for the comment!

[@ElinWinblad]

Walcott Fine Art so it’s okay to put in trash can but not smush it down?

[@stayalivesweetheart]

Was it Cheryl and her she shed?

[@vandaphil]

I love your videos. Thanks for taking the time to share them with us.

[@MrArachnophobe]

Fantastic. Great info that sorted out a lot of my concerns. And, you are a very articulate fellow.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! I'm so glad you found my video useful. :)

[@Moomissah]

I just got oil paints for Christmas after only painting with acrylics. There's so much I didn't know. Thank you for this!

[@walcottfineart5088]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! I think you will love oils. They are so forgiving! Thanks for watching. :)

[@cm79230]

Thank you very much for the recommendations of gloves in a bottle and masters soap. While I do not work in oils and pastels this is a great safety video. It's a great check list of what I do and don't use in my work space. I use gamsol to blend colored pencils and had not thought of air circulation. Thanks again.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you found my video helpful! :)

[@jetsonjoe]

yes just recently found out about the Gloves in a Bottle at my local drugstore...really great stuff...takes some getting use to the effect....The artists soap is just a good quality French or Lebanese olive oil soap...which you can buy a little cheaper....thanks...Lee Valley Tools have a really good nylon brush scrubber that are easy on skin and just .Be careful with the turpentines...they are not good health wise...Ventilation is definitely important. Thanks

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the tip about the soap! Yes, I am always careful to use lots of ventilation when working with genuine turpentine, and I use it only as a component in mediums. For general cleaning of my brushes and palette I use Gamsol. Plus I only use the best quality 100% pure gum turpentine. You can't get that from the hardware store. The best source is Diamond G Forest products. Thanks for watching!

[@zuzanakosticova4865]

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for the video. And here's a question. I don't use paper towels to clean my brushes, instead I use a cloth rag. I do it to diminish my waste - I don't dispose of the rag afterwards, just let it dry and keep using it it until it's way too covered with paint. After I finish painting, I hang the rags on my easel and let them dry. I developped this system in the past eight years (during which I have been painting with acrylics) and I really perfected it - I found out that I could even scratch off the thickest layers of dry paint and wash the rags in my washing mashine, so that they can be reused over and over. However, I started painting with oils in the past few weeks and I am not sure if I can keep this system. For one, for safety reasons - but I gather from your video that if I leave the rags to dry in the open, it should be ok. And second, I am afraid that washing the dry rags in my washing mashine may be toxic for the evironment. I would greatly appreciate any advice, comment or suggestion. And thanks again for the video!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! The main concern I have with washing rags is putting them in the dryer. Any oil or thinner that might still be on the rags could catch fire. I think it's OK to wash them but I would let them air dry on your easel or a clothes line. To be honest the amount of "toxic" waste produced by artists is so negligible compared to the industrial sources, that I wouldn't worry about it too much. Hope that helps! :)

[@garytangeman9351]

Unfortunately now we are in 2019 the EU is very busy having these paints removed from the market. Worrisome for all the genuine artists and those that are cautious.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Yes, I've heard about the ban on lead white. It's too bad that they allowed fear to outweigh common sense. Thanks for watching!

[@walcottfineart5088]

@Nickhead87 Thanks for watching!

[@garytangeman9351]

It pays to purchase additional rubber seals with the thinners jar. The rubber seals do eventually break down over a period of time.

[@NatanEstivalletPaintings]

Hi! Thanks again for another very informative video! I'd like to ask you if you have had any issues with drying paint inside the tube (particularly the big ones). Thanks!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Great question! For the most part no, as properly made oil paint shouldn't do that. In fact, I recently saw a KZbin video on someone's vintage paint collection. The paint was still soft at 100 years old. The technical term for paint drying in the tube is "livering". I did have one tube of lead based white that that happened with once. The manufacturer was very kind to replace it at no cost. Thanks!

[@NatanEstivalletPaintings]

Thank you! Very insteresting a paint still soft at 100 yrs-old! I read somewhere about 40 yrs, thanks for your info!

[@garytangeman9351]

I always thought it to be a strange way of looking at the odorless use of it. You cannot smell it, but still breath it in.

[@sujanithtottempudi2991]

Where are you Jason...please do more videos. I miss your high standard teaching 🙏

[@walcottfineart5088]

I do hope to make new video again, but I'm not sure when that will happen yet. Thanks for watching!

[@bozomahoney]

Love your informative videos, but the music is very distracting

[@shaindarkart5412]

great video jason.....i use paper towels to clean my brushes and other stuff......i NEVER keep oily rags in my studio....cause im a smoker so i gotta be very careful.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Glad to hear you are safe with your rags! Thanks for watching. :)

[@InLawsAttic]

Please say the company/where to buy the Diamond G 100% pure turpentine? Thank you this all is so helpful!!

[@walcottfineart5088]

YOu can get Diamond G products on their website: www.diamondgforestproducts.com/index.html Thanks for watching!

[@danielmangetsu1545]

nice video. I used gamsol to thin my oil paint since i dont use natural resins like damar, work perfect. To clean my brushes i use Turpenoid natural, is not toxic and nor flamable, just natural. :D

[@venetiancat]

I use Viva Paper towels. They are very sturdy, and at the end of the day I throw them in my cast iron wood stove and burn them. I have also found that the Honeywell True HEPA Allergen Remover HPA300 which clears , 465 sq. Ft,(there are smaller ones as well) is quiet and less expensive, and I think that the filters are cheaper to replace than the one you have. I have emphysema and live in dusty New Mexico,(the land of "enchantment" which I think is actually the dust, LOL) and they work great, going on 3 years with no problems; I have two in my house. I also do pottery in addition to oil painting. Thanks for this great video, definitely going to get the barrier cream.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! I'm not sure those Honeywell filters filter out VOCs. They will work on dust and pastel dust, pet hair etc, but it's important to have the right filter for VOCs like thinner and/or turpentine. You need activated charcoal for that. A HEPA filter won't remove those. It does unfortunately make the unit a lot more expensive, but that's why I chose it.

[@venetiancat]

You are quite right about that Jason. But the Honeywell filter has an activated charcoal pre-filter as well as 3 inner Hepa-Filters. Hopefully it is as efficient as yours. :)

[@helpiswhatyouneed.6758]

Thank you so much this was incredibly helpful 😊

[@walcottfineart5088]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching :)

[@helpiswhatyouneed.6758]

You're welcome 😊

[@lunadargent5292]

Another great video. I’m wondering if a person can put a ziplock bag inside the vessel that will hold the gamsol so that when the paint settles and you pour off the gamsol all the paint muck is in the bag? I do this with baby oil but was always scared to do it with gamsol. What’s your thoughts?

[@walcottfineart5088]

You know that's a really good idea! I'm not sure what effect the thinner would have on the bag. At worst if the bagged leaked it would still be inside the thinner container anyway. I will have to try that and see if it works. Thanks for watching!

[@4evemendes]

Great information Jason. I learned a lot. Thank you for sharing all your tips.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad the video proved helpful. :)

[@pjjmsn]

Jason, you didn't mention cobalt colors. Do you have to worry about them being toxic?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Slightly but not much. Use the same precautions you would with Cadmium colors. Other than that they are fine. Thanks for watching! :)

[@davidmarsh4702]

Excellent! Do you ever reclaim the sludge at the bottom of brush cleaners for a workable grey?

[@walcottfineart5088]

I typically don't do that as the sludge is pretty sticky and full of thinner. It's not like paint. It may not form a permanent bond to a surface. I take mine to the local hazmat collection center. :) Thanks for watching!

[@padraiggluck5633]

Thank you, Jason. Informative as always. I enjoy your channel very much.

[@walcottfineart5088]

I appreciate that! I'm glad you've enjoyed my videos. Thanks for watching! :)

[@XpGamerJf]

Hi. I am a very beginner oil paint user and i would like to ask you some questions: I only use refined lineseed oil or simply lineseed oil as a medium and I paint on watercolour paper (i dont prime them with gesso or anything).Can the paper self combust while it is drying or even after? Normaly after I am done painting I take the paper towels that I used to clean my brushes and I soak them in water with soap for 5/10 min and then flush them down the toiled is that ok?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Hi and thanks for watching! I think the only concern with flushing paper towels down the toilet is you might clog your plumbing! The watercolor paper itself is probably OK as long as it sits out in the open to dry. It's the compression in a small space with no air moving around it that causes problems for the oily rags. It doesn't matter that the oil is refined...any oil that "dries" (polymerizes) will create heat as it oxidizes from the chemical reaction. However, you cannot paint on unprimed paper for another reason: linseed oil contains acids that as it ages, will destroy the paper. Unfortunately those pieces you've created will eventually turn into dust. It even happens with linen and cotton which is why all canvas is primed. From now on I would recommend either putting gesso on your paper first or using Arches oil paper which feels exactly like watercolor paper and is designed to work with oil paint. Hope that helps!

[@XpGamerJf]

Thank so much that really helped me :D, I let them dry out in the open for a week and then I store them in a big dark drawer (separately I dont stack them on top of each other) that has some air flow. One last question after the paint dries is there any risk of self combustion or should I never stack my paintings?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Once they are completely dry they should be OK. Give it two or three weeks just to be certain.

[@marilynanderson333]

What does damar varnish add to your medium. I’m wondering why you use it. 🙂 Thank you. Hope you’re having a great day!

[@walcottfineart5088]

It adds a bit of color depth and gloss to the paint. I try to use as little as possible though. Thanks for watching!

[@baconessa]

Thanks Jason! Love your channel!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching and for the nice comment! :)

[@agiusbennett]

It saddens me to say, yesterday my whole studio burnt down because of Boiled Linseed Oil. I was treating a masonite board to make a palette. What do you do after you our the rags in water? How do you disgard?

[@walcottfineart5088]

I am so sorry for what happened to you! That is truly terrible. :( Oily rags are dangerous, especially when compressed because the drying of the oil creates heat. This heat can build up in between layers to a dangerous level. Boiled Linseed Oil is especially a problem because it is made to dry quickly. Water prevents the oil from drying. You can buy special cans for holding oily rags, and you would put water in the can. You could also use an old coffee can. Personally I am lucky to have a situation where my community has dumpsters that are away from the houses. I soak my rags in a plastic bag, tie it off and then dispose of them in the dumpsters at the end of every day. I hope you are able to rebuild and get a new studio! Best of luck to you....

[@etienne7774]

Same thing happened to Blue Ridge oil company.

[@peterbugbee3322]

Dawn dish washing liquid and a dobie pad are great to wash up after oils.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the tip! :)

[@monsurhabib]

What to do if we dont have any specialised hazardous waste disposal centre nearby ? what to do with left over paints that cant be used and sludge ? Those pile of palette scrapings have solvents and cadmiums and lead ...

[@walcottfineart5088]

That's actually a good question. I might try calling your town/city offices and see if they have recommendations for disposing of household waste. Thanks for watching!

[@gloriagama2085]

Jason, thank you so much for your videos, I learned a lot from then. Please you linssed oil plus turpentine and something else that I did't got the name, sorry. I'm english second language. This medium is to make the paint more soft? please give me the third name.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watchiing Gloria! The third ingredient in the medium is Dammar varnish. It should be easy to find at any art supply store or website. Yes, it makes the paint easier to spread and work with. :)

[@zoebrotman-denahy8580]

I often work in pastels and Diane Townsend is one of my favorites brands! For oils what do you think of Liquin?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the comment! Townsends are great! I actually have a 3-part series coming up on pastel and in one video I mention the Townsend pastels in a bit more depth. I'm not a fan of Liquin that much. It's OK in a pinch if I need something to dry fast. I really prefer the traditional mediums. Believe it or not I will be uploading a video on mediums tomorrow. Be sure to check it out! :)

[@dayday4136]

I love your work and videos!!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the nice comment! :)

[@dayday4136]

My pleasure

[@HeidisHouse]

So helpful, thank you for making this!!!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! Glad it was helpful. :)

[@abbeymaryann5988]

Can u reuse rags when cleaning ur brushes or do u need to dispose it for safety reasons

[@walcottfineart5088]

You can use a rag up to the point where it is saturated with paint. Meanwhile make sure to lay it flat and open to the air. Do not ball it up or put it into a closed container. Once it's used up do not try to wash it. Soak it with lots of water, close it up in a plastic bag and put it outside in the trash.

[@jom.o.5741]

If you have a wood stove, is it okay to throw rags in there so if there is combustion, it is contained in a stove?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! Well, since the stove is made to safely contain burning wood, it would probably contain the fire, but I don't know about fumes. If there are any solvents in the rag as well those might create toxic fumes if they burn. Probably best to dispose of them some other way.

[@Airbugg]

Is using paper towel ok? I don't uses oil paint but I'm getting into oil sticks. I wipe my hands on paper towels. Is it ok to throw that in a garbage bag? (Also are you doing a video on oil sticks?)

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for the great comment/question! Yes, paper towels are fine to use, but you still need to treat oil soaked paper towels the same as oily cotton rags. Don't compress them in the trash... Keep them in a non-flammable container (like an old coffee can) submerged in water. Dispose of them ASAP. I have never used oil sticks, I don't have any plans for a video in the near future. But, you never know! :)

[@Airbugg]

Walcott Fine Art So....Is it ok to use oil paints in a sketchbook? Will the paper ignite? And how about storage of oil paints (especially since some tube are wrapped in paper). Is there a danger? I appreciate your comments...I'm so new to this and it's only because I happened to see your video that I found out about these dangers at all!

[@walcottfineart5088]

Hi and thanks for watching! Great question... The heat created comes from the drying process of the oil. Oils closed up inside of tubes can't dry so those are fine. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone use oils in a sketchbook. You would have to let each painting dry first before closing the book, otherwise your painting would get smeared and ruined. You can't paint on raw paper directly with oils... you would have to prime it first with acrylic gesso. Otherwise it will eventually destroy the paper. Hope that helps! :)

[@Airbugg]

Walcott Fine Art Ok... so let's say I did an oil painting on canvas and I didn't like how it turned out so I balled it up while it was still wet and threw it in the garbage. I would have to be careful of something like that right? Since it didn't dry flat?

[@walcottfineart5088]

Possibly... mostly the danger comes from having a lot of oil soaked rags compressed in a pile where the air can't circulate. Better yet, if you don't like the painting scrape off the wet paint and reuse the canvas! Oil paint is forgiving that way. :)

[@mr1992er]

What about senelier green for oil???

[@walcottfineart5088]

I'm not sure about the Sennelier Green mediums as I have not used them. It's always best to be careful with any thinner or medium and make sure you follow the same rules as for any others. Use adequate ventilation and be sure to wash your hands before eating or drinking. Thanks for watching!

[@chriswhitehouse8982]

And people wonder why some steer away from oil painting...

[@walcottfineart5088]

Lots of myths flying around! Thanks for watching :)

[@peterbugbee3322]

Liquid glove is a waste of money. Just use some baby oil. Baby oil is just mineral oil with some perfume.

[@walcottfineart5088]

Thanks for watching! I feel like the baby oil would be too greasy and get messy after awhile. I have found the lotion works quite well, especially with pastels, which you wouldn't want absorbing the baby oil.

[@diegoallcore]

I think I consume more cadmium from vegetables than paints lol

[@walcottfineart5088]

That's probably true! LOL Thanks for watching :)