The many materials I painted with as I transitioned from oil to egg tempera to watercolor led to a great depth of knowledge. Understanding the toxicology of materials required for me to paint my vision safely ultimately led to extensive research of watercolor papers worldwide and the study of toxicology of pigments.
I began art classes at a very young age continuing through two bachelors of fine arts equaling 8 years total. Never once did an instructor speak of safe handling procedures or teach toxicology of the art materials they instructed us to use. In fact, one promoted the use of lead white without offering any safety precautions. The University of Utah did not install adequate ventilation for solvent use. M. Graham & Co.’s sales representative told me he receives usually one call per week from artists struggling with reactions to art materials.
Several classic books on artist's materials exist, Ralph Mayer and Mark David Gottsegen each wrote one. Pigments are universal for all mediums. I incorporate current and thorough information on pigment toxicity not available in those two classics.
Thanks to a few generous fine arts papermakers from reputable mills and papermakers from small mills handmaking paper the traditional way my information on watercolor papers is quite extensive. Some of the papermakers of the more popular papers were not willing to provide honest information about what they use to make their papers. I am grateful to the honest papermakers. In my book I discuss watercolor papers - mould made and handmade - quite extensively: the sizings used in each paper presented, the cotton or linen source. All of these variables also affect the look of the marks you make on the paper.
I provide excellent resources for artists interested in pursuing egg tempera.
Relating our lives and work to the environmental crisis of our times, I explicitly discuss why we should care about the materials we paint with. I am also thrilled to write about how art materials influenced major transitions in Western art history.
I am still writing parts of this book, particularly the technical section. If you would like a preview, in return for your input, I will email you a PDF of the book.
