are acrylics safe??? need green alternative...

[MommyHawk]

Ok, I just found out that acrylics are plastic?!??! I'm not stupid, I just didn't realize until just now...and now my question is, are they safe? and if not (which I associate everything evil with plastic) what can I use instead of acrylics? I paint murals on walls and other surfaces and have always used acrylics - what is tempuras? is that plastic too? what else can I use? what are green alternatives?

[melissa17s]

Tempra is pigment, egg or casien as a binder, and water as a vehicle. Acrylic is not as toxic for the painter as oils, and out of possibilities for murals, it may be the greenest for outside- although fresco would work, too. Inside, you might try plasters (fresco) or milk paints. It kind of depends on the type of detail you are trying to achieve.

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by melissa17s

Acrylic is not as toxic for the painter as oils [...]

This is true usually, but water-based oils are safer in my opinion than acrylic because acrylics contain chemical solvents and plastic of course.

Winsor&Newton makes a line of water oils. They cure the same way as traditional oils because the water evaporates and only the pigment and linseed oil are left. I have never tried them outdoors, but I don't see how they would perform any differently than traditional oils once the water has evaporated. They are made with an altered form of linseed that temporarily accepts water; otherwise, they are just as great to work with, just as bright, pigment heavy, smooth, consistent and fine quality as their other artist paint lines. AND the greatest bonus is that they clean up with water- no turps or other solvents and they smell like linseed (which I enjoy).

I would also look into egg tempura for murals, myself (pp's suggestions are all good ones, I think). If you have any traditional orthodox churches near you, they often have tempura icons on the outside. The brightness and luminous quality of egg tempura are unexcelled in my opinion and egg tempura stands up well to the climate even in the southern parts of Canada, and even in the humid regions.

And I'm with you on the 'evil plastic' thing and I hate hate hate working with acrylics- the smell, the texture, the dullness of its plastic-y look afterward. The aesthetic of the process is so important to me- just much as the final result. I hope nobody's offended; I just prefer my materials to look and feel 'real.'

[MommyHawk]

I'll have to check out the Newton stuff. I'll be painting primarily on Hemp canvas so I have to find something that will work on fabric. I haven't used oils since highschool, but I think I might give it another try - I was painting today with acrylics and the smell was gross! It's just that I get so close to the painting. I'm new to painting on fabric, but I want a non toxic option for sure

[Queen of my Castle]

Originally Posted by melissa17s

Tempra is pigment, egg or casien as a binder, and water as a vehicle. Acrylic is not as toxic for the painter as oils, and out of possibilities for murals, it may be the greenest for outside- although fresco would work, too. Inside, you might try plasters (fresco) or milk paints. It kind of depends on the type of detail you are trying to achieve.

Originally Posted by PreggieUBA2C

This is true usually, but water-based oils are safer in my opinion than acrylic because acrylics contain chemical solvents and plastic of course.

Winsor&Newton makes a line of water oils. They cure the same way as traditional oils because the water evaporates and only the pigment and linseed oil are left. I have never tried them outdoors, but I don't see how they would perform any differently than traditional oils once the water has evaporated. They are made with an altered form of linseed that temporarily accepts water; otherwise, they are just as great to work with, just as bright, pigment heavy, smooth, consistent and fine quality as their other artist paint lines. AND the greatest bonus is that they clean up with water- no turps or other solvents and they smell like linseed (which I enjoy).

I would also look into egg tempura for murals, myself (pp's suggestions are all good ones, I think). If you have any traditional orthodox churches near you, they often have tempura icons on the outside. The brightness and luminous quality of egg tempura are unexcelled in my opinion and egg tempura stands up well to the climate even in the southern parts of Canada, and even in the humid regions.

And I'm with you on the 'evil plastic' thing and I hate hate hate working with acrylics- the smell, the texture, the dullness of its plastic-y look afterward. The aesthetic of the process is so important to me- just much as the final result. I hope nobody's offended; I just prefer my materials to look and feel 'real.'

hey,do either of you paint?
A

[lupis78]

The safest paints are mgrahm paints which are completly non toxic and using non toxic binders for the paint and walnut oils . And some water mixable oil paints such as white are still toxic since white contains lead.Melissa i have been painting for years and as long as you follow good safe handling procedures you should be fine. Make sure the room has good ventilation and wear gloves and long sleeves to paint and you should be ok

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by Queen of my Castle

hey,do either of you paint?
A

[PreggieUBA2C]

Originally Posted by lupis78

And some water mixable oil paints such as white are still toxic since white contains lead.

This is true. If you are concerned with contact-toxicity, then you're going to be hard-pressed to find anything to paint with that isn't intended for children (dubious lightfastness and texture at best); I am assuming you're interested in artist quality paints. If contact-toxicity is the issue, then all paints with heavy metals and certain stone ground and earth pigments are out- that leaves a pretty sparse palette, imo. I thought you were concerned with air toxicity, but if I was wrong, then my suggestions won't work- the pigments are almost all toxic if injested (regardless of the binders and solvents of any type of paint), many if airborne through spraying, and many if left on your skin or if you have regular skin contact with them.

I agree that if you handle your materials well, taking care to handle them safely, then you likely won't have problems. I exclude air-toxic mediums from that because imo, it's nigh impossible to handle those in any truly safe way; you'll always be injesting those even if you had the best ventilation in the world- just storing the stuff in your studio (especially if it's in your home) would have you breathing enough in to cause health issues over time.

[expat-mama]

hello!
I am new to painting (sort of...I have dabbled for a bunch of years, but I don't really know what I'm doing, I just love to do it!) and new to TTCing as well. I was wondering about acrylics as well. Are they really toxic? What can be the effects of acrylic paints on humans?
Reading the posts above, I was surprised about all the warnings. Really? wear gloves? so acrylic paints are or aren't also air-toxic?

I exclude air-toxic mediums from that because imo, it's nigh impossible to handle those in any truly safe way; you'll always be injesting those even if you had the best ventilation in the world- just storing the stuff in your studio (especially if it's in your home) would have you breathing enough in to cause health issues over time.

I don't know why I'm surprised... DH and I have been ridding the house of chemicals since we decided to TTC. We don't use any cleaning chemicals or detergents, no unnatural body care products, etc. But for some reason I didn't think of my paints...
Are acrylics toxic only when you are using them? Obviously they would be if you ingested them, but if I have paintings hung around where baby is, that's ok, yes? I guess that sounds like kind of a stupid question...

[IvyPlum]

I think it is advisable to wear gloves for acrylics while pregnant, since some colors are toxic (cadmiums in particular), but as far as I know, there is no inhalation hazard, as long as you are not letting them dry and then sanding them. They are my choice for safe paint, for sure. Golden Paints has a lot of toxicity information on their web site. I didn't paint during my last pregnancy, but I think I might have been overly cautious. I believe I will during my next one, but will wear gloves. (Hello fellow artists, btw!)

[greene_mama]

Also, if you're considering oils, check out Gamblin:

http://www.gamblincolors.com/

One of my students turned me on to the fact that they are wind-powered and very eco-friendly. They also have an annual giveaway of over 5,000 tubes of paint called "torrit gray" that is made from the pigments collected from their dust-collection system, so that nothing goes into the landfill.

And, as PP's have mentioned, there's just nothing like oil paint!!! It's natural, organic, luscious color at its best....the old master way. It has always been worth the risk to me to get that gorgeous buttery texture/color. I paint for a living, and even when I was pregnant, I still worked (with approval of my midwife). I just eliminated all solvents from my environment and ventilated well, and eliminated any skin contact with pigments. You can get plenty of whites with no lead now, but you definitely still have to watch out for the cadmiums. I use odorless mineral spirits to wash my brushes (outside), but otherwise use linseed oil to thin my paint instead of thinner. Also, there are non-solvent cleaners available now like Turpenoid, which is citrus-based.

Of course, I would never let a child near oil paint, but if you're looking for yourself, I'd say go for it. There's just nothing like a good palette full of oil!