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Manufacturing

In: Manufacturing

Fun Facts About Art Supplies

When 1/2+1/2 is greater than 1

A “half pan” is not precisely half in terms of volume. The difference between a half pan and a full pan can be as little as 0.5 ml in volume. When a half pan is well loaded, it typically holds around 1.5 ml of paint, while it can accommodate up to 2 ml when filled slightly above the walls. On the other hand, a full pan generally has a volume of 2.5 to 3 ml. Therefore, even when fully loaded, a full pan contains less paint compared to two half pans.

When the worst is the best

Over the course of many centuries, the quality of hog bristle, a material commonly used by oil painters, has declined in Europe. This decline can be attributed to the improved living conditions provided to pigs in Europe, which resulted in a decrease in the quality of their bristles for painting purposes. Interestingly, the quality of hog hair for brushes is now found to be superior in regions like China, even for brushes made in Europe. This is because the hair from pigs raised in more challenging environments tends to be of higher quality for painting purposes.

Re-assembled Linseed oil

The quality of linseed oil used for painting is influenced by the conditions in which the crop is grown. Generally, colder climates tend to produce higher-quality oil, making northern crops more suitable for artistic use. In order to reduce dependence on natural conditions, many manufacturers refine linseed oil through multiple stages. This refining process involves the removal of certain amino acids and proteins, followed by the addition of only those that provide benefits for artists. As a result, this refined oil resists yellowing over time and also dries at a faster rate. However, we don’t know how such processes affect painting in a long-term perspective.

Acrylic Focus Pocus

Acrylic paints have the ability to undergo self-polymerization, which allows them to form a dry film even when stored in a closed container. To prevent this unintended drying process, manufacturers often incorporate ammonia or other chemicals into the paint formulation. These additives help to inhibit the self-polymerization and maintain the paint’s usability over an extended period of time.

In: Manufacturing

Acrylic vs. Oil: What Is Toxicity And How To Manage It

If you read an article about the VOC content of paints, you may have a valid question: why all these paints are not labelled as toxic? I’ll tell you more, all they will have a label “non-toxic”. The reason is that the term “toxic” is limited by ingredients that cause “adverse chronic health effects” and “acute and/or chronic health hazard”.  In other words, if acute exposure to a certain paint doesn’t damage your body enough to the stage when it’s unreversible, or medical assistance is needed, the paint is officially non-toxic, and it’s your responsibility to provide proper ventilation and use protective equipment (glasses, gloves etc.) 

However, paints that contain cobalt, cadmium, lead, nickel, and many other heavy metals and major harsh toxins have to be marked as toxic. The USA is much stricter in this matter and the list of ingredients that would have warning signs is much longer. You can find it here: https://www.p65warnings.ca.gov/

All these are reasons why MSDS for the same kind of paints usually split for paints that don’t have toxic pigments and paints contain them. Lists of colours described by “non-toxic” and “toxic” documents usually are included by manufacturers. 

For some reason, even the industrial paint industry has much clearer labelling and standards than artist’s paints. Most of them show a list of ingredients and disclose VOC levels as well as precautionary measures. Anyways, as each of us has only one body and we’re going to carry it until the end of the day, that’s our responsibility to take proper care of it. Let’s take a look at how to provide safety in the workplace.

Oil paints and toxicity

As we mentioned in the previous articles, most of the toxicity of oil paints comes from solvents. Turpentine and white spirits as well as tons of odourless variations of those drag toxicity to the oil painting process. Yes, solvents ARE hazardous, cause eye and skin irritation, and may cause drowsiness or dizziness. Solvents may be fatal if swallowed and enter airways. Simply DO NOT USE SOLVENTS! Solvents are OPTIONAL for oil painting.

Another source of toxicity comes from certain pigments. However, such pigments can be present in any kind of paint (oil, acrylic, watercolours, gouache, tempera etc.) and are not exclusively linked to oil painting.

Technically, if you avoid them your painting process is non-toxic. Some manufacturers may add solvents inside the tubes, but now it’s getting less and less common. However, I recommend checking MSDS just in case and choosing your brands wisely.

Oil paints dry slowly and release VOC slowly as paints dry, so give your artwork 6 months or more before having it in the bedroom. Even though the VOC level is quite low there, it’s better to be on the safer side.

Because oil is quite a flammable material it’s recommended to take extra caution and avoid painting close to fireplaces, working heaters and other places that have potential fire hazards. The flashpoint of linseed oil is about 93 Celsius. 

We will talk about the storage and cleaning up process in further topics.

Acrylic paints and toxicity

The same as for oil painting, watch for pigments used. If you are sure that cobalt or cadmium may harm you, then just ignore this part.

When people say acrylic is “water-based”, they associate this statement with safety. Yes, acrylics do contain water that carries all ingredients and pigments, but it’s not a base, it’s one of the ingredients. As the acrylic polymer dispersant contains styrene, an alkyl methacrylate or a mixture of styrene and an alkyl methacrylate, you should take measures that keep your workplace safe. 

Methyl methacrylate can cause skin, eye and respiratory irritation. As we discussed before, proper ventilation is required, unless you paint outdoors. Health authorities recommend typically 10 air changes per hour. If special equipment is used for ventilation, make sure it’s fire-proof as the methyl methacrylate vapours are highly flammable. 

Styrene is a chemical used to make latex, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene resins. When you breathe air containing styrene, most of the styrene will rapidly enter your body through your lungs and will be broken down into other chemicals that leave your body in the urine within a few days. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that styrene is a possible carcinogen.

However,  the most dangerous guy in acrylic paints is ammonia. According to technical information, ammonia is a flammable gas that may form explosive mixtures with air. It may displace oxygen and cause rapid suffocation. It’s harmful if inhaled and can cause severe skin burns and eye damage. 

For acrylic painters, health authorities recommend wearing protective gloves and clothing and using proper eye protection. Keep your paints away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources. Avoid smoking, drinking and eating in the room. Use paints only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.  

 

In: Manufacturing

Acrylic vs. Oil: VOC

In this series of articles, I’d like to look at these two mediums from a professional and responsible artist’s point of view, thinking about the artwork itself and the impacts that working with these mediums includes. There is no straightforward answer to what’s better and I don’t think such a question can be valid; this article is aimed to make an informed choice for this or that art project. I’ll try to be as straight to the point as possible.

What is VOC? 

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) means any compound of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic acid, metallic carbides or carbonates and ammonium carbonate) that participates in air. Some VOCs have a distinct smell, while others may remain unnoticeable. Exposure to VOCs in indoor air may affect your health, depending on which VOCs are present, the level of VOCs present, and how long you are exposed. 

Some examples of VOC include formaldehyde, benzene, ethylene glycol, d-Limonene, toluene, acetone, ethanol, 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol), methylene chloride, tetrachloroethylene and many others.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a guideline value of 0.3 mg/m³ for total VOCs in indoor air.

Both oil and acrylic paints (we’re talking about artist paints, not industrial) emit VOC, but in different quantities and in different ways. You can find the information about VOC in the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) that most manufacturers provide. 

MSDS for the same product vary depending on country regulations and usually split based on pigment groups:

  • containing cadmium and cobalt
  • containing zinc oxide
  • and all the rest
  • These extracts refer to “all the rest” based on regulations in the same country and state (county).

Before we refer to the facts, let me ask you a question, Which paint would you choose, the first or the second?

“SECTION 7: Handling and storage  

7.1. Precautions for safe handling Precautions for safe handling: Ensure good ventilation of the workstation. Wear personal protective equipment. 

Hygiene measures: Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product. Always wash your hands after handling the product.  

7.2. Conditions for safe storage, including any incompatibilities Storage conditions: Store in a well-ventilated place. Keep cool.”

“SECTION 7: HANDLING AND STORAGE 

Precautions for Safe Handling: Read and observe all precautions on the product label. Wash hands after use. Immerse contaminated rags in water. 

Cautions for Safe Storage: Store away from high temperatures, sparks, or open flame”

I’m not sure what would you prefer, but I’m voting for the second. The first one describes acrylic paints, and the second one refers to oil paints (I’m not disclosing brands here). 

Even very high VOC in paints doesn’t qualify to be labelled “toxic” as VOC compounds do not stay in your body for long being broken down and released with urine. However, prolonged exposure to VOC vapors can cause a variety of health effects, such as:

  • eye, nose, and throat irritation;
  • headaches, migraines and loss of coordination;
  • nausea and damage to the liver, kidneys, or central nervous system.

VOC in Oil Paints

In general, the VOC of artist oil paints (not industrial ones that you buy in construction stores) is less than 2 g/l. Meaning, for example, if you’re painting in lean technique and use 10 ml of paint, which is about a tablespoon size, your paint will emit about 20 mg of VOC and to maintain healthy standards 66.7 m3 of room space is needed. If your ceiling height is 2.5 m, a painting room should be 26.6 m2 or larger to maintain healthy balance.

If you’re painting in impasto technique, you’ll need a room about 10x larger. 

However, oil paint releases VOC slowly, while paints dry, meaning that the concentration of VOC will be lower than those estimates.

To keep oil painting safe, just don’t use or add turpentine oil or solvents. They have almost 100% VOC, reaching up to 1200g/l. Use linseed or other drying oil, solvent-free mediums, cleaners and varnishes. Keep your painting on the safe side.

Cheap oil paints may have solvent inside and emit more VOC.

VOC in Acrylic Paints

Generally, the VOC of artist’s acrylic paints is about 50g/l. For a lean technique, let’s use the same 10ml of paint. They will contain 500 mg of VOC and with the WHO’s norm of VOC level 0.3 mg/m3 we’ll need 1666.7 m3 of space, which is about 667 m2. If you paint in the impasto technique, multiply this number by 10.

The good news is that all VOC is emitted during drying time, which is quite fast and after the painting is cured, the VOC level is 0. In other words, in 1-2 days air quality with proper ventilation and filtration goes back to normal.

To compare, acrylic paints that contain mica powder (in other words, all metallic paints) have a VOC of about 300 g/l, and acrylic varnishes have 100 g/l. I saw artist’s acrylic products with VOC 500 and higher. Some acrylic gels and pastes may have very low VOC as no pigment or excessive water was added.

Acrylic dispersion/emulsion itself has a very low VOC. Making acrylic paints by yourself and using them right away is another solution to avoid intoxication. What is inside acrylic paints and why, you can read in the previous article.

In: Manufacturing

Acrylic vs. Oil: What Is Inside The Paints

In this series of articles, I’d like to look at these two mediums from a professional and responsible artist’s point of view, thinking about the artwork itself and the impacts that working with these mediums includes. There is no straightforward answer to what’s better and I don’t think such a question can be valid; this article is aimed to make an informed choice for this or that art project. I’ll try to be as straight to the point as possible.

Oil Paints

Historically, oil paints are made from pigment and oil. However, fresh-made paints, especially if they contain mineral pigments, will start separating within a very visible time frame (some paints show separation even after a week from the manufacturing date). Copper Oxide pigments separate in 5-7 days, and earthy pigments, depending on their particle size, within 1-3 months. Organic pigments, due to their lightweight nature, may not show any significant separation even after a year of manufacturing. Pigment use is a separate topic, so I’m not going to pull it here.

As it can take 5 or even more years between manufacturing time and actual purchase and consumption time, manufacturers need to make sure that their paints are still presentable. So, to stabilize paints (depending on pigments) they use wax pastes as well as barium sulfate. To increase the quality of the painting and the elasticity of the film, some resins can be added. Usually, it’s turpentine gum (don’t mix it up with turpentine oil), dammar, mastic etc. To shorten drying time a small amount of turpentine oil may be added.

Some paints, depending on pigments and grade (studio, artist, pro) may have fillers that usually have a mineral nature: kaolin, marble dust, calcite, barite, talc, etc.

Professional paints have pigment, oil, wax, resins and a minimal amount of fillers.

Acrylic paints

Here, everything is much more complicated. Long story short, here is a list of ingredients:

  1. Pigment. The same as for oil. The different pigments used for acrylic and oil will be covered in a separate article. 
  2. Binder. It’s either acrylic dispersion or emulsion or both. They contain styrene and/or an alkyl methacrylate. The alkyl methacrylates used are methyl methacrylate, isodecyl methacrylate or stearyl methacrylate. Many terms, but all these can be simplified as monomers that form polymers after the carrier (water) evaporates.
  3. pH adjuster and dispersant. When we paint in acrylic, we expect that paint will be easily spread, and mixed with other colours. That’s why ammonia is an essential acrylic paint component. Pigments, as we know, are solid particles and tend to settle down on the bottom of the pain container with time. Ammonia helps to disperse the pigments evenly throughout the paint, thereby providing nice consistency and colour uniformity.
  4. Surfactant. These chemicals prevent paints from early cracking and provide an even drying process. Here we have ammonia again, glycerine, and propylene glycol.
  5. Fungicide. As acrylic has water inside and some organic and inorganic ingredients, paints need to have preservatives that stop mould growth. Here, it can be ammonia, formaldehyde, or petroleum by-products.
  6. Paints, that contain mica powder as well as very thick paints may contain solvent to prevent separation and prevent paints from drying in tubes.

Ingredients used in paints deal with safety and health issues. 

In: History

Acrylic vs. Oil: Brief History And Goals

In this series of articles, I’d like to look at these two mediums from a professional and responsible artist’s point of view, thinking about the artwork itself and the impacts that working with these mediums includes. There is no straightforward answer to what’s better and I don’t think such a question can really be valid; this article is aimed to make an informed choice for this or that art project. I’ll try to be as straight to the point as possible.

Oil Paints

It’s hard to say when the oil painting was really invented, as more and more evidence comes up with archeological searches (it’s saying that the first oil paintings found belong to the 7th AD), but we can definitely say that oil painting practice was actively adopted and developing during the Renaissance time, in 1500s. There were two main schools, based in the Netherlands (that led to the establishment of the Old Holland company) and based in Italy. Key contributors include Van Eyck, Giovanni Bellini, Leonardo, Titian, Vermeer and others.

The goal of oil painting was to create art that would last long and offer the optical sensation of depth, light and life. Initially, oil paints were made of pigment and oil. Some artists were adding resins made from saps of different plants and trees to achieve this or that optical effect.

However, later, when manufacturers started producing paints in mass quantities, oil paints got a broader use, including industrial and household paint. To shorten drying times, as well as to increase spreading properties, toxic solvents (such as turpentine and white spirits) were added.

Acrylic Paints

Acrylic paints were invented quite recently, in 1934, by the German chemical company BASF, patented by Rohm and Haas. The goal of the creation of acrylic paint was to replace oil paint in household and industrial painting with faster drying and less toxic solutions. They really did this job well and keep doing so. Painting walls with acrylic is much cheaper, less toxic and much faster than with oil.

By the 1960s artists adopted acrylic paints as a practice. All we know is that this time is associated with the mass-production and consumerism era.

In: Brushes

Why Prices for Brushes Are So Different?

The market of art supplies now is full of chaos (maybe, it always was). Some paints or brushes cost just a few dollars, while others go all the way to $100 and up. Unfortunately, the price doesn’t always reflect the quality of the product, which, actually, creates a mess. Let’s talk about brushes and what we’re buying. I’ll make separate sections on different kinds of brushes with a brief overview. 

Kolinsky Brushes

Kolinsky Sable brushes are highly prized by artists for their quality, performance, and versatility, making them a popular choice among professionals and serious hobbyists. They work perfectly for watercolour painting and oil glazing techniques. And these brushes vary in price a lot. Really a lot. A round brush 3 mm in diameter can cost $2 or $50. These price differences are worth taking a closer look at why it’s happening, when we deal with a true value and when it’s just a game.

We already have an article about how to choose Kolinsky brushes for your goals , let’s cover just the pricing things. 

For brushes, the best and most valuable hair comes from the belly part of Kolinsky males grown in the wild in Siberia (Russia). It doesn’t mean that the best Kolinsky brushes have to be made in Russia. Nowadays, international trade is very developed, and brush manufacturers worldwide have good access to almost anything they need or want. The hair from belly part has relatively short and very springy hair with excellent water and oil absorbency. 

As only a limited hair source works well for paint brushes, it makes the brushes very precious. And the best brushes in this category (from what we carry) come from the Roubloff Premium series and Old Holland brand. These brushes are worth the price higher paid. 

Nevertheless, many manufacturers use other parts of Kolinsky’s sable to produce their brushes, which leads to quality drops. As the hair itself derived from the tail (for example) can be quite long to use or be very dry and brittle, sometimes brush-makers trim the tips of the brushes that make them unusable for professional detailed work. 

As a regular artist can’t make a lab test to assess if the hair belongs to Kolinsky Sable or not, some manufacturers, especially in China, use partially or fully red sable hair and sell it as Kolinsky. A lot of Kolinsky brushes from Amazon or Ali Express that are made in China are suitable for student-grade painting or varnishing details only.

Borciani e Bonazzi Kolinsky imitation brushesKolinsky Imitation Brushes

Kolinsky imitation brushes got very popular for their wide possibilities. Watercolour, oil, acrylic, gouache – they technically can be used for all the mediums. Of course, these brushes have their limitations in the techniques applied but they still, count as the most universal brushes. 

Most manufacturers have them coloured as natural hair with a transition from rusty orange at the ferrule to dark brown at the tip. Most of the hair is not quite perforated, which makes these brushes work better for opaque and heavy-bodied mediums, such as gouache, acrylic and oil.

From our shop, kolinsky imitation brushes that are really very close by their properties to the natural hair belong to the Il Perfetto series by Italian manufacturer Borciani e Bonazzi. The filament is micro-perforated which is of of the key characteristics of natural hair brushes. 

Orange Synthetic Brushes

Paintbrushes with orange synthetic filament may have different names and belong to the most accessible and least expensive brushes. The hair itself in 95%+ of cases is made of nylon in China. 

And pricing here is quite ridiculous as technically the same brush can be sold under different brand names (with just a few variations), and the price for the same brush may vary from 50 cents to 10 dollars, for example. Most dollar-store brushes are made from this kind of fibre. 

As the fibre is made of nylon, the bundle separates and splits when you work in oil and after just a few uses it loses its shape, making it non-workable on any even slightly-detailed painting. Things get worse if you use solvents for cleaning your brushes.

For acrylics, these brushes last longer, but still, they may split just after several uses. For lighter-in-body mediums, such as watercolour or gouache, the fibre keeps its shape much better. However, the application and brushstroke possibilities here are very limited as the fibre is not perforated and releases the paint unevenly.  

These brushes are my least favourite, and I’m using them mostly for acrylic varnishing, and KOLOS Synthetic Wide Flat Brush by Rosa, for example, work perfectly for that goal.

This doesn’t mean that you should avoid orange synthetic brushes, they still have good benefits for the price paid.

Also, not ALL orange-coloured synthetic is like that. There are still some manufacturers that sell high-quality brushes with professional-quality orange synthetic, such as Borciani e Bonazzi Top Graphic Preciso 605, Borciani e Bonazzi Synthetic Triangular, Roubloff Premium Synthetic Brushes and some others. 

Mongoose Imitation Brushes

Since mongooses are endogenous species, their hair is not used in brush industry; it’s simply illegal (and inhumane). However, we have a lot of brushes that imitate mongoose hair. Most faux mongoose brushes, of corse, come from China and even respected European brands sell them under their own names without direct indication of place of manufacturing. 

Mongoose Imitation brushes are supposed to be stiffer than kolinsky brushes, but still soft and flexible enough to be applied for watercolours, gouache, acrylic and oil. From the selection that we carry on ArtMat, Roubloff mongoose imitation brushes from Russia are the best in their category. 

 

To be continued. 

In: Manufacturing

How to choose right canvas for your goals – Part II (Support)

Support for your canvas is another important “ingredient” of a successful painting. Your canvas can be stretched on wooden bars or glued to a cardboard or wood, or can be used as canvas paper. Let’s take a look for these options and see how they work.

Stretched canvas

Stretched canvas has many benefits before other kinds of support:

  • Framing is not required for such paintings
  • Paintings look more presentable and expensive
  • Restoration gets easer

In general, I prefer stretch canvas over other options. However, not all stretchers are the same. There is something we can choose and something we can’t test when purchasing.

As artists, we can choose depth of canvas: is it gallery or regular. I’d suggest for canvasses longer than 24 in gallery stretchers, because narrower canvas can show signs of deformation with time. Large canvasses (over 60 in) should have extra supporters, that keep corners strait.

Also, a good support literally stretches the entire canvas, meaning the stretching bars are not completely flat and have sort of ledge (see pic.) 

All these are things we can choose and check before buying.

However, there is something we can’t check before making a purchase – that’s quality of wood itself. Quality stretching bars should be made of hard wood, such as oak, fir, birch, beech or harder sorts of pine. Most Canadian-made stretching bars are made of pine. Also, good stretcher should be fully kiln dried and have relative humidity between 8% and 15%.

Cheaper canvasses are made of softer wood and normally not fully dried. With changing environment (temperatures and humidity indoors), these bars change their shapes, get crooked and can show cracks. That’s the main problem of cheap wood. 

Sometime ago I got very expensive paintings of Russian Avant-Garde that were not treated respectfully by a previous owner and were stretched on wood plank from a construction store. As a result, frames got crooked and even caused damage of painting layer. So, now I have to restore them.

Stretched cavas in general is more expensive option than any other kinds of support for canvas. Especially after 2021, then lumber prices jumped up incredibly. For that reason artists look at other alternatives.

Canvas on Board

Canvas on cardboard is another option for artists. However, it can hold only small sizes (up to 16 in) otherwise painting will cause cardboard deformation. Canvas on cardboard also requires framing that adds extra costs and may eliminate and savings against buying stretched canvas.

If for acrylic painting canvas on board can be a good alternative to more expensive canvas, for oil painting this option is unlikely to work well. The problem is in polymerization of oil in the binder.

Cardboard is a very absorbing material and literally drains oil from your painting causing colour fading, unpredictable and uneven drying time as well as faster aging.

Canvas Paper

Canvas paper is an option to test colours or to make sketches on the go, but, unfortunately, for more valuable works it’s not an option at all. Usually, canvas paper is more fragile than normal canvas, has acrylic emulsion  primer rich in chalk to create a thicker look. All these makes further stretching impossible without damage to a painting layer.

In addition to that, for oil painting we have all the problems with uneven drying, faster aging and fading, because chalk is very porous and absorbs oil.

Oil Paint Fillers
In: Manufacturing

Oil Paint Fillers

What do you really need to know is that oil paints have a lot of fillers. It’s not possible to make thick paints without them, especially for some synthetic pigments (see other articles). Also, some mineral pigments due to their weight separate in oil paints and some agents needed to prevent this (read Why Oil Paints Separate? article).

The main reason why manufactures use fillers is increasing paint’s volume and reducing costs to maximize profits. For example, student grade paints may contain just 3 or 5 percent of pigment by volume (information taken from safety data sheets, when such details were disclosed). However, it is possible to make paints without fillers and achieve richest chroma. 

Anyways, let’s take a look at fillers and what they do as well as how to recognize them in your paints. 

Barium Sulfate (PW21)

And the champion here is Barium Sulfate (PW21). It’s one of the cheapest (10-25 times cheaper than pigments) and most efficient fillers as it increases opacity and adds some weight to a tube making it feel as if it has higher pigment load. Barium Sulfate is a white crystalline odourless solid, naturally occurring as the mineral barite. It’s insoluble in water, so it is safe to use. However, poorly made synthetic Barium Sulfate may have free soluble barium compounds as impurities that are very poisonous. Most paint have synthetic barium sulfate as a filler.

Aluminium Hydroxide (PW24)

For synthetic pigments Aluminium Hydroxide (PW24) is a very common filler. Sometimes it’s not even considered as a filler for such pigments as phthalocyanine blue or green, pyrrole red, and other synthetic pigments that are super strong and need a base. 

Chalk (PW18)

Chalk (PW18) is also a very common filler here. However, this group is very broad that goes from actual chalk to marble dust. Marble dust brings viscosity to oil paints. As its oil absorption is very low (just 10 g per 100 g) it’s added a lot as a thickener and stabilizer.

Kaolin (PW19)

Kaolin, or PW19, is another common filler that is used a lot in oil paints, especially for titanium white and ultramarines. Chemically speaking, Kaolin is Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide, and more practically it’s just a clay. It has a lot of applications in different areas, including cosmetics. Most face masks, for example, have kaolin as a base. For art supplies, gouache paints as well as pastel, primers etc. may include kaoline as well. Generally, it’s a very safe ingredient, but doesn’t add any value to paints, mostly just increasing the volume of paints.

RUSART Naturals Profesional watercolours
In: Manufacturing

What is special about RUSART Naturals handmade watercolours?

RUSART Naturals professional handmade watercolours are a result of years of research and development as well as continuous testing, formulas improvement and working with professional artists.

What is inside watercolours?

A full overview what watercolours are made with you can find in this article: Watercolours – What’s Inside? Let’s stop on the main ingredients that make watercolour genuine and quality.

Generally speaking any watercolour would have the following components:

  • pigments – to colour your artwork
  • binder – to glue pigment powder together and adhere the solution to your paper
  • fillers – to increase the visible volume of paint sold
  • plasticizer – to increase elasticity of a paint and film
  • humidifiers – to prevent paint from over-drying
  • preservatives – to prevent mold growth
  • additives to enhance colours or achieve any other specific goals.

The best paints have more pigment, right amount of binder, plasticizer, humidifiers, and preservatives. These ingredients are essential for any watercolours. Lower grade paints may look the same, but they will have more fillers, tints instead of pigments or low-quality pigments. More information about pigments you can also find in our Knowledge Base.

What is special about RUSART Naturals watercolours?

We released our first watercolours in Sep 2020. More colours are coming up as soon as testing process is finished. And for now we’re happy to offer our soft, semi-dry watercolours for professional artists.

  • High-quality pigments. Most pigments in RUSART watercolours are mineral, tested with time by generation of artists. With technical progress some pigments get replaced with synthetic ones (like it happened to ultramarine, for example) and we have them too. We’re also testing our own pigment manufacturing that coming up in 2022-2023.
  • We buy pigments from responsible vendors, so no children or unfair labour was involved. This ethical problem exists for some pigments sourced from Africa (mostly red and blue cadmiums) and China.
  • For our watercolour paints we use only natural ingredients: water, arabic gum, pure glycerin, natural BC honey and essential oils. No formaldehydes or other harsh chemicals.
  • RUSART watercolours have absolutely zero fillers. We’re not cheating our clients and don’t increase volume of paints to make you pay more fore the less amount of paints. Some paints look softer than expected as they require the amount of binder added and particles don’t bind together with less amount of binder. We didn’t add any fillers to make appearance better. Instead, we’re working on adding other pigments that help us achieve our goal. Every next batch will look better and better.
  • Maximum pigment volume concentration: 50-90%. Some pigments take more binder, while the others take less. We let pigment take as much binder as it needs for the best performance.
  • Our binder is also different. As we’re a small manufacturer we can control every little step. We create arabic gum varnish at certain temperature and certain conditions. Usually bigger manufacturers just dissolve gum arabic with water.

Other benefits of RUSART watercolours for artists

  • We make our paints in small batches, so you’re always buying fresh
  • Each RUSART Naturals watercolour jar contains 5ml of paints. Normal size of a full pan is 2.5 ml.
  • Our watercolours are portioned in convenient little pots with twist caps that keep watercolours moist and clean.
  • Made by an artist, Elena Nahum Leroy, for artists
  • Made in Canada, from mostly local raw materials. Buying from us, you’re supporting 10+ more Canadian small businesses. 
  • We’re working on reducing plastic in our packagings, as we did for many other our products.

 

water based paints and water soluble paints
In: Manufacturing

Why water-based paints are not water-based

Now we can see more and more labels saying “water-based paint” or “water-based varnish” or “water-based medium”. In fact, only few kinds of products can be truly called “water-based”. Let’s look inside “water based paints” meaning.

Why company use “water-based” for their labels?

All these comes from the times when acrylic paints started to appear on the art supplies market and when a massive campaign against oil painting began. Wherever possible acrylic paint advocates poured a bucket of dirt on oil painting manufactures claiming that oil paints are toxic, not safe, and acrylic paints are much better, because they are water-based. Then the market was roughly split into “toxic oil-based” products and “safe water-based” ones with the big lie started.

Now manufacturers have many reasons to call more and more products “water-based” because:

  • “water” means natural and “water-based” attracts customers
  • “water-based” is a clear statement and easy to understand
  • labelling paints as “water-based” is a simple way to stay apart from alcohol- and oil-based ones.

Water-based vs water-soluble paints

A true meaning of “water-base” is a mixture or solution of pigment, dye or tint in water. We use these fluids for tinting plaster, paper, gesso or primer and other mediums. You can find tints at our shop too.

Manufacturers also use pigments dissolved in water for fresco painting, where wall plaster serves as a binder. For any other cases we need a binder to “glue” pigment particles together and keep them attached to a support, such as paper, canvas, wood etc. Binder is a base for any paint. So, water based paint meaning is very narrow. And talking about “water-based” paints we should rather say “water soluble” paints.

Water soluble paints include a very wide range of products:

  • watercolours (based on Arabic gum)
  • acrylic paints (based on acrylic dispersion or emulsion )
  • Latex paints (based on acrylic resin)
  • Water-soluble ink (based on acrylic dispersion)
  • Gouache (based on Arabic gum or acrylic dispersion)
  • PVAc tempera paints (based on poly vinyl acetate)
  • Casein paints (based on casein and oil)
  • Finger paints (based on dextrin, starch and other sugar-glue binders)

As you see, a spectrum of “water-based” paints is very wide and it doesn’t always mean “water plus pigment only” pair.

Potential other ingredients for water-soluble paints

Depending on kind of paint and its intent to use paints will have some other components beyond just binder:

  • Fillers – to make a tube look bigger and replace expensive components like pigments
  • Enhancers – to make paints spread easier, enrich colours or achieve other properties, like opacity/transparency, increase viscosity, add gloss or matt finish, reduce or increase drying time and other
  • Preservatives – to prevent mold growing and extend shelf life
  • Humectants – to prevent paints from drying 

And here we can find some harmless components, such as honey, clays, marble dust, corn syrup, starches, dextrin, essential oils, resins, silica, glycerine etc. 

On top of those paints most likely will contain one or more of those: isopropyl alcohol, white spirits, solvents, ammonia, formalin, phthalates, xylene and other.

Always check list of ingredients, especially if work indoors. Manufacture safety data sheets do not disclose all information.

You can read more about different ingredients of paints and how they contribute into your art and your health in our knowledge base. And get updates to your email with our newsletter.

Non-toxic art supplies for children: safety
In: Manufacturing

Art Supplies for Children: Safety First

When we buy art supplies for children, the first thing we think about is safety. With this in mind we search for “nontoxic” labeled on art and craft supplies for children and easily find it! Let’s learn more what this label really means.

What “nontoxic art and craft supplies for children” mean?

All art supplies for children by retailers located in the USA and Canada must undergo through third party tested certification for toxicity. However, term “toxic” is limited by ingredients that cause “adverse chronic health effects” and “acute and/or chronic health hazard”. 

One of the most common organization that certifies products internationally is Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI). Their certification split products into two categories:

  1. The AP (Approved Product) – art materials that are safe and that are certified by a medical expert to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to people or to cause acute or chronic health problems..
  2. The CL (Cautionary Labeling) Seal – products that are certified to be properly labeled for any known health risks and with information on the safe and proper use of these materials. The CL seal is not allowed on any children’s materials.

Safety labels for art supplies ACMI

Everything sounds very good and if you look at AP label you can safely use it for children, of for yourself. We thought the same way before we realized some other things… We found AP label on paints (especially sets) containing cadmiums, cobalts, ammonia, formalin, ethylene glycol and other chemicals. If paints with some of these chemicals are to be sold in California, they may have special “warning” labelling. 

Where to find more information?

Normally, all art supplies should accompany with Manufacture’s Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), where composition and chemicals have to be disclosed. However, most manufacturers keep a list of ingredients secret and MSDS contain only general information, like “no hazard known”.  

For example, the biggest supplier of children art materials in North America, Crayola, doesn’t show ingredients at all. We even can’t tell what kind of pigments are there and what they use to prevent paints from growing mold. You can find MSDS here: https://www.crayola.ca/about-us/crayola-msds.aspx 

There are many reasons why manufacturers hide ingredients, from literally hiding something to just protecting themselves from competitors. RUSART finds this practice dishonest and as children may use paints and other supplies in many ways, including licking and painting on their skin, knowing a full list of components is very important.

Why knowing ingredients of paints IS important?

Nontoxic is not always nontoxic

First of all, term “toxic” is much broader than standards determine. Even ASTM D-4236, the standard practice of labeling art materials for chronic health hazards, is saying that “1.8 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.” 

That means, even if you see a label “conformed to ASTM D-4236”, you and yourself are in charge of use of the product. That’s your responsibility if something goes wrong.

Misuse can occur

Secondly, all art and craft paints are assumed to be used properly. So, paints – for painting on paper (or other listed support), pencils – for drawing and paper etc. But what if your child accidentally ingests paints? And that’s a very common paint “misuse”.

A lot of paints for children contain dextrin and corn starch as a filler, so paints may taste yummy for them to lick. As a white colour or as a filler companies use titanium or zinc oxides. Titanium oxide is quite safe chemical (read more in our knowledge base), but zinc oxide when ingested may cause some unwanted effects.

Cadmiums and cobalts usually are not an issue for kids paints for economical reasons. These pigments are so expensive, that manufactures would never use them for children.

Hidden chemicals

Another big issue is formalin, which is a very commonly used preservative in paints. In some countries, such as EU and Russia, it’s legally prohibited to use it in paint-manufacturing. But it’s not prohibited to sell paints containing formalin. That’s why, when you buy non-toxic paints from China, no one can guarantee they have no formalin. Similar issue you can find with phthalates.

Allergies

And, what’s very important, that’s even paints come out absolutely non-toxic, they still can cause allergies. And knowing a list of ingredients helps a lot. Paints for children may contain wheat, honey, and other allergens. These ingredients are essential for natural paints but should be avoided with those who has certain allergies.

Conclusion

  • Non-toxic label doesn’t guarantee that a products is really “non-toxic”
  • Check with MSDS
  • Choose art materials that disclose lists of ingredients
  • Stay informed with RUSART Newsletter
RUSART Naturals Profesional watercolours
In: Manufacturing

Can artist’s paints be natural?

Natural non-toxic watercolour paints DO EXIST and they can be professional and affordable. And we’ll try to prove it.

What is inside watercolours?

A full overview what watercolours are made with you can find in our other articles . Let’s stop on the main factors that make watercolour genuine and quality. Generally speaking any watercolour would have the following components:

  • pigments – to colour your artwork
  • binder – to glue pigment powder together and adhere the solution to your paper
  • fillers – to increase the visible volume of paint sold
  • plasticizer – to increase elasticity of a paint and film
  • humidifiers – to prevent paint from over-drying
  • preservatives – to prevent mold growth
  • additives to enhance colours or achieve any other specific goals.

The best paints have more pigment, right amount of binder, plasticizer, humidifiers and preservatives. These ingredients are essential for any watercolours. Lower grade paints may look the same, but they will have more fillers, tints instead of pigments or low-quality pigments. More information about pigments you can also find in our knowledge base.

The weakest colours belong to yellow segment and many manufactures to bring opacity and show colour in tube to catch buyer’s eyes add some white into a colour.

RUSART Naturals professional watercolours is a result of years of research and development as well as non-stop testing, formulas improvement and working with professional artists.

What is special about RUSART Naturals watercolours?

We released our first watercolours in Sep 2020. More colours are coming up as soon as testing process is finished. And for now we’re happy to offer our soft, semi-dry watercolours for professional artists.

  • High-quality pigments. Most pigments in RUSART watercolours are mineral, tested with time by generation of artists. With technical progress some pigments get replaced with synthetic ones (like it happened to ultramarine, for example) and we have them too. We’re also testing our own pigment manufacturing that coming up in 2022-2023.
  • We buy pigments from responsible vendors, so no children or unfair labour was involved. This ethical problem exists for some pigments sourced from Africa (mostly red and blue cadmiums) and China.
  • For our watercolour paints we use only natural ingredients: water, arabic gum, pure glycerin, natural BC honey and essential oils. No formaldehydes or other harsh chemicals.
  • RUSART watercolours have absolutely zero fillers. We’re not cheating our clients and don’t increase volume of paints to make you pay more fore the less amount of paints.
  • Maximum pigment volume concentration: 50-90%. Some pigments take more binder, while the others take less. Some let pigment take as much as it needs for the best performance.
  • Our binder is also different. As we’re a small manufacturer we can control every little step. We create arabic gum varnish at certain temperature and certain conditions. Usually bigger manufacturers just dissolve gum arabic with water.

Other benefits for artists

  • We make our paints in small batches, so you’re always buying fresh
  • Each RUSART Naturals watercolour jar contains 5ml of paints. Normal size of a full pan is 2.5 ml.
  • Our watercolours are portioned in convenient little pots with twist caps that keep watercolours moist and clean.
  • Made by an artist, Elena Nahum Leroy, for artists
  • Made in Canada, from mostly local raw materials. Buying from us, you’re supporting 10+ more Canadian small businesses. 
  • We’re working on reducing plastic in our packagings, as we did for many other our products.

5 ml glass jars

Check RUSART Naturals professional watercolours>> Prices start from $7.99 for 5 ml of semi-dry watercolours.

 

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