Painting (Not the Walls!)

[Shala]

Hello all,
I've been trying to find an answer to this for a while but all the posts I've found are all about wall painting. I'm an artsy person and for the last 2 years I've been confined to a singular rented out room with my 2 birds. An amazon and a conure. I'm really itching to get back into my art, but I don't know if it'll be safe to do so in my room with the birds.

So the question is, is it safe to do acrylic paintings (on canvas not wall) with birds in the room?

 

[SailBoat]

Not at all an artsy person, hence no experience with artist based acrylic paints.

With Parrots is all about LOW VOC's. Off-gassing, especially in a small enclosed room its dangerous for everyone. Since one's art room is vastly different artist to artist, general recommendations can be dangerous whether an individual has a very large, open area and another an area the size of a small closet.

Most shops that target artists will have a fairly good idea as to the safety of their products. Reading with detail the instruction of the paint container can be helpful as specific words can have great meaning, i.e the term 'well ventilated area' equals a death sentence to a Parrot.

With hope, one of the Artist will contribute.

 

[noodles123]

It depends on what you are using. Most oils, turpentines, thinners, epoxy, serious paint= unsafe. Yes, they produce VOCS in many cases.

I will say that I have successfully used acrylic around Noodles (for painting pictures), as well as Elmer's glue, magic markers, pencil, small amounts of charcoal and a variety of dip-type inks (for oblique/nib pens etc). Those inks are nearly scentless (in my experience--- not that they are certainly safe due to lack of scent....but...)--off the top of my head, I used Higgins, Speedball and then some generic India ink.