These notes are some of the guidelines that I use with the aim to make my painting practice more safe for our environment (and as a result also me). They are responses too to Qs commonly asked, a work in progress, hopefully it is helpful!

• Working with solvents is not necessary for oil painting. Often artist grade linseed/poppy/safflower oil is sufficient for blending and vegetable oil you can use for clean up. There are solvent alternatives too, for instance safe solvent-like products. Do your research and you can actually minimise the use of toxic products greatly.

• You can simply choose not to work with toxic heavy metals like lead and cobalts and other pigments that are known to be harmful. Sometimes pigments are dangerous less in paint form for the painter, and more dangerous for the miners and factory workers. It helps to think to about where your pigments come from, what form they are dangerous in, and how you dispose of waste. Just because something is 'natural' doesn't mean it is safe or more ethical either. Organic when it refers to pigments simply means carbon based molecular structures.

• Most materials have safety data sheets -- a lot of information can be found on there, for instance which colours harm sea life ie. 'Chinese White' has a component that harms sea life, cadmiums too. The information you find does depend on current standards and research. For instance other countries have different standards. MDF imported from China can contain asbestos.

• Be mindful of which detergent or soap you use as they can include harmful ingredients. Surfactants like SLS or sodium laurel sulfate (and laureth depending on how it is processed) are irritants; phosphates too. And while both may not be classed 'toxic' for humans they are harmful in the water table and for the environment as a toxin and in the form of nutrient pollution respectively. Phosphates persist even after waste water is treated. We don't really need so many suds and there are less harmful soaps available like castille soaps. Phthalates (sometimes listed as 'fragrance') is a common irritant (especially this is an issue now with many people suffering respiratory issues post-covid) as well affecting the human endocrine system with repeated exposure, and they are toxic for sea life. Because 'greenwashing' is so common now in how products are marketed, it is always best to look at the listed ingredients and do your own research.

• If something is water wash-up that does not mean it is a safer option. Don't wash acrylics down the sink or into storm water - they are micro plastics. You can evaporate the water and dispose of residue and containers otherwise. Or you can filter the paint out of the water (Golden sell a kit for this if working with large quantities), it is time consuming and of course acrylic is not great in landfill either so you could consider using a different kind of paint. Acrylic is just the binder, oil or gum arabic are alternatives. Acrylics also can release dangerous chemicals into the air when wet or dry (unlike other paints). 

• Use your resources wisely. We don't need to stop painting or making art, a lot of materials artists use are in fact byproducts of other industries (colour pigments for example are made primarily for the automotive industry, and cotton paper is made from waste from the rag trade). Artists have always worked with what is at hand and that can form part of the content of our work. We can though make small decisions that have a real impact. It helps to know that some traditional practices are actually wise. And companies are catching up with the fact artists care.