Paint Poisoning: Handle With Care

It was not until I was in grad school and had been painting for 25 years, that the hazards of art materials began to be discussed in school, in the wake of the publication of "Artist Beware". I will never forget the shock wave that ran through the audience in the lecture hall when we heard this: if you use turpentine or any solvent (like gasoline, paint thinner, etc.) to take paint off your hands, you are pushing the pigments through the skin barrier and into your body. Pigments like cadmium, chromium, barium, lead, cobalt... not to mention that turps is generally adulterated with lots of nasty chemicals, and is in itself a central nervous system depressant and generally a villain. Does this explain a great deal about the mental state of painters through the ages?

There are really incredible soaps available for hand and brush cleanup, and it is crucial to make such simple changes in our work habits, as well as having ventilation, not pointing brushes with our lips, etc., and to avoid inhalation of powdered pigments.

The reason I discuss this whenever I do a gallery talk or lecture is that I developed a connective tissue disorder about five years after grad school which halted my career in its tracks, and still have lots of physical problems 20 years later. Artist beware, indeed.