More questions and concerns about OIL PAINTS and TURPENTINE

[happycat]

Since I got birds I haven’t painted with oil paints in the house. But I am an artist who will actually be going into art when I graduate, and my favorite medium is oil painting. My art space is the same room as where one of my birds is, but I can put him in the living room while I paint in my room, with all the windows open and fans on. Even in that case, is it too risky??

Obviously my birds lives come before anything else, but I am very passionate about art and would really like to start oil painting again. Acrylics, watercolors, and gouache just aren’t the same.

Just for anyone wondering, the brands of oil paints I use are Artist Loft, Windsor & Newton, and Gamblin. I also would need turpentine and liquid white.

 

[happycat]

Also if the turpentine is the biggest issue, I could use linseed or walnut oil instead

 

[ChristaNL]

Oilpaintings take weeks/months (depending on size and thickness of the paintlayers) to really dry -> that means they release fumes for months on end even after appearing to have dried.
Wait till summer and paint outside? And cure/ dry out anything outside as well.

 

[CarolineBradley]

I have a studio that is separate to the bird room (previous it was actually in a sep building).
However..
Have you looked into water soluble oils? I've used W&N for years and don't use any mediums to thin so I don't run the risk of fumes spreading through the house.

 

[GaleriaGila]

No greater love hath a parront than to lay down their oils for their fids.

I have done that. Yeah, it was huge, but... now, after ages of focus/study/concentration/experimentation/etc., I have gotten to a level of okayness with acrylics.

Over time, I eventually developed a multi-media method of portraiture that combines several materials, and it has really stretched me as an artist.

It's a huge thing. I do get it. Good luck!

 

[SailBoat]

You're using a cross-section of products that the Auto Painting industry requires painters to use personal air supply systems, full masks with supplied clear air. Yes, you are applying thicker versions of the product, which as stated above require much longer drying periods. Use of turpentine requires its use only in highly ventilated areas.

 

[cnyguy]

I can sympathize. I gave up oil paints too, and tried watercolors, gouache and acrylics but none of those ever worked out for me. The turpentine, and such things as brush cleaners containing mineral spirits, do pose a breathing hazard, for us humans and our parrots. The best solution is an entirely separate space for painting with good ventilation, and no birds allowed. Of course, that's not practical for most of us. I've never tried the water soluble oils, but that might be a good alternative to conventional oils.

 

[noodles123]

I too gave this up..at least in the same house. If I can paint in the shed etc, then I leave my stuff out there because, as stated previously, oil paints off-gas for a long time...Also, keep in mind that turpentine gets on your hands etc (and it can linger even after washing). You need a totally separate air-space if you want to safely use either (walls etc aren't enough when you think about how chemicals impact the lungs of birds---we don't even have to be able to smell them but they can still irritate or even kill our birds (e.g., canary in the coal mine).

 

[EllenD]

As someone who's mother is an artist, was an elementary art teacher for 30+ years, and who's things were painting and pottery, AND who bred parrots and had a CAG in the house too, I understand (I'm a lifelong musician, I play alto sax, guitar, drums, soprano recorder, I didn't get the "visual" art gene at all, can't draw a stick-figure, lol)...My mom had her studio in the basement of our house which was a nasty, cement-floor basement where our washer/dryer was and our oil-furnace was, so no birds down there EVER and it could be sealed-off completely from the rest of the house, with the breeders up two floors, so it wasn't an issue...But she still worried constantly.

I wouldn't EVER risk having your bird in the same room that you paint in, unless you're using water-colors. Absolutely no Oil/Acrylic paints, and definitely no turpentine/mineral spirits/paint thinner at all, that's just asking for a tragedy to happen...As an artist I totally understand what you're saying and where you're coming from, but Oils are just not good, and I wouldn't risk using Acrylics either...I have been building reptile enclosures for years, and I have a shop in my garage where I also repair and restore guitars and other musical instruments, and depending on what I'm doing I can't have my guys out there either do to the cleaners/strippers/polishes/oils I use when restoring an instrument, the glue/varnish I use on the enclosures (wood and melamine board), and then I also often design/build 3D foam-backgrounds for the insides of the enclosures that are usually cut/shaped to look like stone walls/mountains/cliffs with basking platforms incorporated into them, etc., and I often use spray-foam insulation and expanding foam spray, which is horribly noxious, and I use a large assortment of mostly Acrylic paint, along with some chalk and milk paints on the backgrounds, and then I use literally gallons of ModPodge to seal them and make them waterproof. Lots of work with the Dremel, the soldering iron/wood burner, lots of sanding, etc. So it's just gotta be "No Birds Allowed", period.

I remember the house still smelling like oil paints even though she would be down in the basement...She started doing a lot with oil pastels, but then she'd have to spray them to fix them, and that stuff is noxious as hell too...It's just difficult to have birds and do any types of visual arts, woodworking/restoration work, etc. But you're always better safe than very, very sorry.

 

[happycat]

Tragic. Truly tragic, yall. I love my oil paints
Although, lets be honest. Two scenarios:
Can't use oil paints in the house. No risk. sad because I can't use my favorite medium.

Use oil paints in my house, accidentally killing my parrot. Now THAT is a lot more tragic than not oil painting. I'd never forgive myself D: !!!! I think I'd never touch oil paints again anyway.

Thank you for all the advice, fellow artists and parronts.
Now, one more question. How do yall feel about me taking my easel out on the balcony; and leaving the canvas and paints outside until they are dry? Would that be okay?
And @GaleriaGila How did you get accustomed to acrylics? perhaps me owning a cheap brand of acrylic paints doesn't help my feelings on them.