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Ok I was here for the day in the life content but I have never seen someone eat popcorn with a spoon!! LOL

Hmm, that's pretty interesting. I paint cubism, and also have ADHD, so I find myself having legit split complementary colors; I just use reds, blues, and even dark greens in the same painting. Expressionism is another art form that allows users to be flexible with what colors they wanna use to convey their art's message.

Yes!!

I recently had to give up the spacious studio I was renting due to the increased rent, insurance etc. The only room in my house I can reasonably use is my daughter's old room in the basement. One tiny window and not much space at all. 😢 I love abstract and was experimenting with larger scale substrates. Now I have to completely rethink my art practice.

Thank you so much❤

I also have a very small area and I think you have great ideas! I just don't think it's a good idea to have candles under your paints like that! It will surely dry your paints out! Cheers CC

Hi <3 Today, our art teacher let us draw watever we wanted on the white board. I drow a semi realistic dog because why not. And after some girls and boys from my class scribbed on it some nasty insults like "L(loser)+Ratio(I don't know what is that word)+Cry about it+ womp womp (dissapointment)+ no dad (i have a father..)+furry(I JUST DROW A DOG)". I kinda deal with anger issues and i got very mad about it.. Thank you for the tips :) [Sorry for bad grammar)

Thanks for the information about this product. I ordered some and was able to use it first 2 days ago. It cleaned the brushes really well, even better than safflower oil. I'm waiting to see how quickly the pigment particles settle out so I can decant it and use it again. It takes a month or more for the pigments to settle out of safflower oil so so it can be reused and if this is even half the time, it'll be worth it. It's been a week or so since I've watched this video, but I think I remember that you said the Eco-Solve will be stained from the pigments. That's unfortunate, I think, but not a deal killer. The Eco-Solve is not clear anyway like an odorless mineral spirit is, but I guess I'm wondering if i will be able to tell when the Eco-Solve is ready to be reused.

Huh, No comments? What's going on? This is a useful technique and painters need to be reminded of it. Anybody can paint the thing, but can you paint not the thing so that the thing is revealed?

This is so good, such an amazing tip ☺☺

Painting is hard and slow and painful. And that’s ok. Just keeping doing the work and showing it. Also, don’t paint from photos 😘

Yes, like you there are days when creating an abstract painting seems right. Then another day when doing something more realistic is good. The issue for me is that this way of thinking, a painting never gets done. Thats not good. Finding a reference can be challenging. And painting with no reference or no sketch or idea is not ideal. Almost better off to clip different photos from different magazines, and pick out your own reference and paint from that. Anyway, this is a good video. Thank you and all the best.

I get free cloth rags from a local T-shirt company. Ask them to save their mistakes. At least the one I go to makes mistakes on a regular basis. And they gave me the T-shirts they would have probably thrown away for free.

More like this please!

This sounds so good ☺☺

Have you heard of Michael Harding’s Miracle Medium? Oh my goodness, complete game changer ❤

I was so excited until soy. Allergies make this too much a risk. Eco grown soy is really hard to source. But. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I'm so glad that people are seeking out alternatives to solvents. So I'm still happy there is progress in this area, just not the product for me.

I clean my brushes after each and every painting session, I use a brush dip of clove oil and safflower oil mixture to break up the oil paint, then I use warm water not hot, and Ivory soap to do the final cleaning. You must use some paints with heavy metals in them to have to wear gloves, there are safer oil paints that you can use to replace them with. And by the cleaning method I'm using now, as well as just using Ivory Soap in the past, no solvents are required. A couple of other things that you can do as well, only one brush per mixed colour, with to keep from contaminating the mixtures. And lastly I use a glass pallet after scraping the paint off the pallet and wipe it down, the brushes that I was using I dip in the brush dip, and then I use a painting motion this breaks up the oil paints that are left in the bristles, I do this a couple times, more so for the white that I use. Once I have took my paint brushes to the kitchen sink for the final cleaning of warm water and Ivory soap, I go and start wiping off my glass pallet that has the brush dip on it, and it's ready for the next painting session. With this brush cleaning technique, non of the hairs have any paint in them they are like brand new.

I looovvve the idea of separating your brushes into color use!! BRILLIANT!!! Just got all new brushes from my grandmother -all new. I love this system! Thank you!!!!

Thank you for saying what my heart is feeling right now! I’m so tired of competing with people I will never be as good as …! I will continue to try to improve my painting for sure!! I just found your channel ❤️

Disapointed that water-mixable oils dont rince off so well during painting since I was hoping to minimize the number of brushes in action. So I'm moving to traditional oils with lots of cheap walnut oil for cleaning brushes during and after work. Still, water-mixable oils are a great option (using Cobra,). Your video is excellent because very comprehensive, from solvents to metals & not making false claims such as Chelsea= innocuous. Thank you!

Linseed oil can spontaneously combust as it cures because the curing process puts off heat, similar to how resin gets hot as it cures. This is also an issue for woodworkers and fires happen all the time from this. There is a proper rag disposal procedure. It's not recommended to leave an item that can spontaneously combust on a flammable surface like cardboard.... And adding more heat like putting it in the sun. It's recommended to keep them in an airtight container so there is no oxygen to feed the fire. As well as like 5 other steps.

💯👌Many valid points.

Great video! So clear and comprehensive! Thank you!

Thank you! This was very helpful!! I live in a small apartment and want so bad to paint again and make it work!!

Great video. Simple and straight to the point. Thank you!

Great advice. Recycling old solvents is easy here. Recycling centre, the dump, hardware shops, and even most art stores will collect it for the Recycling paint programme. There is a lot of concern about water quality and fish spawning here that they make it as easy as possible for people to do the right thing with their paint waste.

Something to consider is that the skill is painting. You can use other mediums besides oils. Oils are great for a certain type of painting usually anything realistic but it’s kind of terrible if you want bright colors or an illustrative look. When I want to do something bright I will switch to acrylics because it’s hard to beat acrylics when it comes to bright pigmentation. Feel free to move about the cabin. I especially enjoy soft pastel which is also a kind of paint it’s just dry. Working with raw pigment is a real game changer.

Bar of Ivory soap cleans oil paint brushes clean very well. Used thismethod for years.

Thank you. this is a very helpful video. It can be overwhelming when you dont know what to do to keep everyone the environment too, safe. All the best.

You rock! It's so hard to find clear info on this stuff.

What do you think of Turpinoid Natural?

Thank you and all the best.

Very good video. really clear. Thank you and all the best.

The drop cloth is a brilliant idea! 💡 thank you

This is such a practical video for these times. Thank you for the share 🥰

Super helpful! Thank you!

Thanks for demonstrating all 4 methods. I’m new to acrylic so find this VERY useful!

I live in a 135 square foot tiny house rental with my dog and boyfriend. There's no way I can have a section for my art space. So I just have a portable station that I take outside and paint. It sucks so bad.

Love this video ❤️❤️❤️

Hi! Just want to recommend buying t shirts at goodwill or asking friends/ acquaintances for old tees, sheets, any fabric that can be turned into rags. I just cut up old tees or sheets or literally any fabric (I’ve even used sweaters, they are super absorbent lol). if you can replace some of the single use rags you are using, that would make a difference! Thanks for the video 😊

i've used Murphy oil to clean my brushes for years ...

What do you use for the underpainting to thin the paints?

What a thoughtful video. Thank you!

I mean, especially if you’re using toxic pigments- cadmiums, cobalts (including cerulean), chromiums, & so on- I don’t think you’re being overly cautious at all about paint dust. Especially if you’re seeing it break off of brushes & paint tubes (until recently I’m coming from oil & watercolor painting, & in those mediums the pigment tends to stay pretty well-contained… In acrylics, within the plastic paint film [in acrylics the bigger health risk is the actual petroleum byproducts that ARE the binder, & the odorless fumes they emit while drying], & in watercolor, in the Gum Arabic, or Aquazol (the less common but arguably even better QoR binder Golden uses), & once it’s soaked into the paper it’s not going anywhere… The main place it can accumulate in watercolor is at the bottom of glasses of water you clean your brushes in, but then it’s weighed down & waterlogged… So unless you aerosolize it in a spray bottle, or an acrylic airbrush, it’s pretty hard to inhale/ingest those pigments (they do warn that you probably shouldn’t do so with toxic heavy metal pigments, or if you do you absolutely should wear a full-on respirator)… So it’s not something I’m used to worrying about much. You might see a little crust build up around paint tube threading, but if it’s acrylic then it’s going to form more of a polymer that will tend to break off in chunks than a dust, & in watercolor the tubes are so small that even if this happens a little, it’s not likely to build up a lot, & I think it’s because of the nature of the gum Arabic/Aquazol binders, but they really don’t break up into a fine dust that can easily go airborne (they also tend to clump around the edge of a tube’s seal until it starts to stick & you have to break it off in chunks… So, not to say it can’t possibly ever be an issue in these mediums, but it’s not a big problem for them… The main inhalation risk, aside from odorless, invisible acrylic drying fumes that can still be toxic, has only been when I am dealing with dry pigments. Sometimes I buy colorshifting/chameleon pigments (which are made of mica dust) & mix them into an acrylic medium myself, for use in pouring or other painting applications… And when you’re dealing with loose mica powder, or other pigment powders, that’s an ideal situation for the powders to become airborne & be inhaled (& even if mica isn’t carcinogenic or poisonous, it’s still a physical hazard- large, crystalline grains that you do NOT want in your lungs). So any time I’m dealing with something like that, I will definitely wear respiratory protection (ideally you want an actual respirator- not something to skimp out on)… But it’s good to know that with oils, they do become more of a dust hazard when they dry out on brushes or tubes. Given that that’s something you’re observing, it’s DEFINITELY sensible to be cautious about it, to ventilate your space & avoid build-up… Especially if you’re using any toxic pigments- to even if the dust was purely made of dried oils, that’s still not something you want building up in your lungs. People ought to take these kinds of hazards seriously, & I respect the fact that you’re being a good role model about it & sharing some harm reduction advice. I’m new to oil painting, so I’m only just beginning to familiarize myself with all the ins & outs, & obviously the risk isn’t comparable across all mediums (the hazards & the things you need to do to use them safely vary drastically), but I’ve certainly seen horror stories about people who didn’t take the risks seriously, or even know they existed, in other mediums I’ve used, or even just watched videos about. I’ve done some alcohol inks & a lot of acrylic pouring, so I looked into epoxy resin at one point, & the stories of people who spent even just a year or two doing epoxy resin pours indoors without a respirator, not realizing how toxic the stuff is to the lungs, are heartbreaking. People who suffered permanent lung damage, got so I’ll they almost died, still have no endurance as a consequence… All because they got into a craft… Granted, it takes more exposure than that with any of these painting mediums (though people really should avoid using acrylics or solvent-based oil painting products in a closed space without ventilation)… But I think hearing those stories is what has made me so sensitive to it, when I see people making “beginners” tutorials for mediums like epoxy resin, but just completely gloss over the health & safety aspects- neglect to even mention that you shouldn’t be inhaling these toxic vapors… In a lot of cases the people MAKING these tutorials don’t even wear any kind of mask/respirator, because they don’t have a good mic & don’t want to muffle what they’re saying, so it creates this false impression that you can just casually be pouring ounces or liters of this stuff, having it react & harden, all in your own bedroom or something, with no ventilation, no respiratory protection, & it’s just fine… And those kinds of mis-impressions can frankly be fatal, or ruin & shorten people’s lives. So no, don’t feel like you’re being a neat-freak or whatever. It’s really good that you’re putting this info out there, encouraging people to do their art in a safe & sustainable way that won’t leave them with regrets or crippling medical costs, providing information & your personal observations about how to minimize exposure to the toxic components of these materials. It’s a really respectable thing to devote your time to as an artist.

I love that you both write gratitude lists and send them to eachother! Your videos are great 👏

💕

Such a fantastic video, watched and enjoyed till the end ☺☺☺

Small space and toddlers around 😢 here

Heck yeah, girl! Love the pumpkins shirt!! ❤❤❤