Why I Love Acrylic Paint but Want to Ditch It

19/1/2020

Underpainting The Pomegranate artists book ©Cherry Jeffs 2019 - acrylic paints and materials with title: Why I Love Acrylic Paint but Want to Ditch It

Underpainting the Pomegranate artists book ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

I’m shocked! I’ve used nearly a whole 500ml bottle of acrylic medium to make the structure of my current artist’s book.

(Working title: The Pomegranate.)

A friend of mine - previously tasked with getting supplies for me - says I have an acrylic medium addiction. But even by my standards, that’s a lot.

Why I started using acrylic paint

I resisted using acrylic paint for the longest time. The synthetic-sounding name put me off. I didn’t see myself as an acrylic sort of a girl.

But when I eventually tried acrylic paint in the early 2000’s, I found its quick drying time and opaque quality suited it my workflow perfectly. I like to be able to make mistakes and cover them easily. And I don’t have much patience for waiting for paint to dry.

So acrylic paint has been an integral part of my creative process ever since.

But I love our planet and my distress at climate change is growing.

Wooden tools, sponges and stencils for making paper clay leaves. ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

Making paper clay leaves for The Pomegranate artists book ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

The contradiction of "Creative Fire"

In 2013 I made the artwork “Creative Fire”. It was my response to the increasingly unbearable summers we were experiencing in Spain due to global warming.

It hasn’t escaped me how much of a contradiction this is. Acrylic paint is made from a synthetic resin binder called acrylic polymer emulsion. Basically liquid plastic!

So while I’m happy with the rapid progress I’ve been making on The Pomegranate over the last fortnight, I recognise that it's partly due to the fast-drying nature of these synthetic materials.

And, compared to my other pieces, The Pomegranate is surprisingly heavy. Since it’s otherwise made of corrugated cardboard and tissue paper, the weight is mainly due to that 500ml of acrylic medium! I feel it as the weight of my ecological footprint.

Too deep a print by far.

If I make a similar piece to The Pomegranate in the future, I'll use a cornstarch paste instead of acrylic medium. That’s not a difficult switch.

And I’ve already switched up using acrylic medium as a varnish for cold wax medium.

But substituting acrylic paint in my workflow is a much bigger ask. There’s no doubt that it’s going to require not only some changes in my process but also a change in the look of the work.

Of course I know that my tiny consumption of acrylic paint doesn't contribute to global pollution massively.

And I’m aware that a common practice among ‘environmentally concerned’ artists is to filter out the acrylic paint from the water. Then leave the left-over paint sludge to dry out before throwing it away. But this isn’t very practical now that I don’t have a permanent studio. Plus it still begs the question of what’s going to happen to those plastic solids at the end.

(Throwing away the paint I already own without using it won’t make it much less polluting. So I’ll probably still be using acrylics for quite a while.)

But I believe in living according to my core values as far as possible. So I’m not happy with using so much of a material that has no place in our planet’s ecosystem.

3 shots of the structure of The Pomegranate artists book in progress ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

Making the basic structure out of corrugated card and tissue paper for The Pomegranate artists book ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

Tempera - an eco-friendly alternative to acrylic paint?

For 2020, one of my goals is to explore options for greener alternatives to acrylic paint. Ones that could fit with my workflow.

I began researching this last year but somehow, it got away from me. There are lots of suppliers offering earth pigments. And info about easels and paper using wood sourced from sustainable forests. But for commercially prepared ‘green’ paint alternatives other than oils, I find a lot of dead links.

So I keep coming back to the idea of Tempera. (Tempera paint consists of pigments mixed with a glutinous, water-soluble binder medium such as egg yolk. It dries to the touch quickly, but can take up to a year to fully cure.)

I'm back in Spain next month and I have in a book back there on natural paints. So I'll experiment with some of the recipes for making egg tempera paints. (There are also recipes for milk paint but I’ve never heard of artists using those.)

I can imagine myself procrastinating massively if I have to make up my own paint. It could be a big bar to entry. That said, I have used powdered earth pigments before but mixed with - you guessed it - acrylic medium.

So I’m prepared to try.

My creative voice is strong enough, my process robust enough, to subject it to some stress. I can even embrace the idea that different media will add an exciting new dimension to the work.

Structure complete: The Pomegranate artists book ©Cherry Jeffs 2020

What about you? How do you reconcile ‘being green’ with your creative process?

Have you struggled - or do you continue to struggle - with your own dilemmas in terms of materials you previously took for granted?

I’d love to hear!

I’d be SO grateful for any suggestions for green alternatives to acrylic paint. Especially if you’ve tried them yourself.

Please comment so others can benefit from your expertise!  

UPDATE 22nd OCT 2020
I've created a free online space to share ideas and links for artists who are trying to find eco materials to work with. It's a private community on Mighty Networks so you don't need to be on social media to join and no-one will be selling you anything there.

It's a place to upload pics of our own work as well as links to books, websites and suppliers of interest and generally chat about our experiences. (Yeah, that's right, it's like those networks that used to exist before Facebook took over everything.)

I’d love it if you’d join!

Join Eco-Friendly Artists

27 Comments

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PRIVACY POLICY

fritzie

20/1/2020 01:55:27 pm

I think this is a wonderful contribution on several levels and look forward to hearing where you go with this.

I love the look of egg tempera but have never used it.

Like you I was averse to acrylic for the longest time because of the artificiality implied by the name. But I just couldn't stand the solvents for oil, even the ones that were supposed to be problem free.

So I too use acrylic when I paint..

I work more in clay now than with paint. The glazes contain lots of noxious stuff, so I have become increasingly interested in a natural finish.

I have shifted away from food-safe work, so that I don't have to worry about the integrity of the finish from that standpoint.

Cherry link

20/1/2020 05:59:34 pm

Thanks for the support, Fritzie. I almost didn't post this article because I felt like I was saying that all my work is really non-environmentally friendly so don't buy it ;) But I recognise that it's no more or less so than most other people's work out there.

Seems like every medium has its own challenges. I remember burnishing clay as producing a fabulous finish but it can be hard work!

Look forward to hearing what interesting solutions you come up with.

Victoria link

20/1/2020 05:20:49 pm

Have you tried encaustic? I have a good friend, artist, who uses it and she loves it. I have not tried it myself but I know the Romans used it and some are still around from ancient times. I am concerned about acrylics dried out left overs too since I do all my paintings in acrylics and colored pencil. I am going to be looking more into encaustics and cold wax too myself. Hope it works out for you!

20/1/2020 05:53:34 pm

Hey Victoria, good to hear form other artists are on the same quest!

I haven't tried encaustic because the heating process could be an issue for me as I'm often working in small or shared spaces.

But I just found a post about an artist who mixed paint pigments with cold wax so I'm definitely going to try that! I reached out to her to see if she continued exploring those combos so I'm hoping to learn something more about that process from her. The post is here: https://en.louiselamirande.com/new-experiment-cold-wax-gold-powdered-pigment-and-alcohol-ink/

I'd love to hear how you get on with your experiments and see the results! It's got to be hard to switch medium when you're doing portraits.

Do stay in touch :)

Victoria

20/1/2020 07:43:53 pm

Cold wax and encaustic still have to be in an environment that is cool so not so good in hot areas like here in New Mexico, plus no control of what others would do to keep them cool. Also looked into casein, milk based, but takes 3-6 weeks to dry and can not use them on canvas but a possibility. Also watercolor and gouache seem to be safer choices too, but like pastels hard to varnish without messing up the surface. Looking into safer ways to dispose of acrylics and the water used too. But still the solid left over plastic...will keep learning. Hope you find what can work best for you. Thank you for the response and will check the website you recommended.

22/1/2020 09:15:02 am

Hey Victoria, I'm getting very excited about a brand of cold wax products called Zest It as I've seen their test for mixing with metallic pigments and I can't see why it wouldn't work for other pigments as well. Their range is biodegradable and they ship worldwide or even buy via eBay.

I have the same considerations about the wax melting as I spend some of my year working in Southern Spain and have plans also to travel further afield. But I think the idea of cold wax melting might be a bit of an urban myth.

Follow this link to read how they tested for heat resistance: https://www.artywax.co.uk/cw_testing.htm

The finding was that only the freshly-painted wax loosened in extreme heat but the wax that had cured was stable.

EILEEN

2/7/2021 06:52:39 am

Hi all! I'm so pleased at the interest in this topic. There's one point that I would like to clarify.

Victoria mentioned that watercolor and gouache are hard to varnish without disturbing the surface. Watercolorists traditionally have never varnished their work because it is protected by glass. These days with the development of both UV-protected glass and lightfast pigments, there's even less reason to consider varnishing.

The exception is limited to a particular framing decision. Some collectors wish their watercolors to be mounted on wood panels without glass. In that case, there are various spray products that could be used, all of them toxic, unfortunately. Even mounted in that way, however, if a watercolor was made exclusively of very lightfast pigments (the vast majority of pigments regularly used today,) and hung out of direct sunlight, there's no need for a UV-protective spray.

For those who desire opacity, gouache may be a good choice.I believe that all of the above is equally true for gouache, but I don't use gouache very often, so someone else could address the need for varnish with more authority than I. I heard a gouache teacher say once that no varnish or other finishes are ever needed, assuming that glass will protect the surface from abrasion and UV rays.

As far as UV protection is concerned, I think that nothing valuable should be in the sun everyday. I live in a very bright home and virtually everything that spends most of its time in the sun fades eventually.

P.S. It occurs to me that acrylic painters could possibly reduce their toxic contribution a little by framing with glass in order to avoid the need for UV-protection. Just a thought. The real issue, of course is the plastic paint itself and it's persistence in our environment after "disposal."

I also want to mention the company that makes the watercolors that I use. bIt is called M Graham. I originally switched to their brand from another very fine brand, because I fell in love with the painting characteristics of their watercolors due to the use of honey. Later, I became aware of their dedication to the environment. They also make acrylic paint and might have an environmentally superior product. At a minimum, I suspect that the processing would be as good as it gets.

For those considering giving up acrylics, the only thing I can say to soften the blow, is that the anticipation usually ends up being much worse than the reality, so it usually pays to shorten the anticipation. :=)

Cherry Jeffs link

2/7/2021 05:33:09 pm

Thanks so much for all your comments Eileen. You're right that these shifts inevitably involve a re-interpretation of our process and it's better to begin sooner than later!

Thanks for the info about M.Graham paints. They look great.

I think the problem for a lot of us is that we don't have a straightforward process of paint on canvas. But, as in art in general, exploring the unknown can be what makes it really fun if you allow yourself some freedom.

23/1/2020 05:54:25 pm

Thank you Cherry! this website is awesome! It has caused me to look into this more of a possibility! Esp the use of being able to use pastel, which is one of my fav mediums but too easily damaged. Will study this sites info more and do some of the testing my self in the possible near future! Thank you again!

Nela Dunato link

11/2/2020 06:53:20 pm

Unfortunately, I can't help you with any acrylic paint alternatives – I tried using gouache, but it being non-waterproof and brittle is a deal-breaker in most of my craft projects. I don't like it much for my paintings, either. It doesn't work well with my style. I use watercolor and ink whenever it makes sense, but acrylic paint has spoiled me and I don't see myself giving it up. The thought of pouring micro-plastic in the sewer is unnerving... and yet, like the thought of giving up meat and dairy, I'm conscious of the fact it would be better for the planet*, but I can't make myself do it.

I'm trying to reduce plastic waste in my drawing materials. I've stopped buying disposable ink pens (though I have quite a stash so it will take a while until I go through it). I've also started replacing ink cartridges with bottled ink whenever possible, though it's hard to find a bottled alternative that matches the color and consistency of my favorite color brush pens and calligraphy pens. I wish Pilot and Pentel made their proprietary inks available in bottles.
I still haven't found an alternative for white gel pens. Getting the gouache consistency *just right* to be able to paint tiny details with a brush is hard, I've never quite gotten there.

13/2/2020 05:50:24 pm

Hey Nela, we all have to make the changes that we feel able to make. I gave up meat in my 20's but I've never managed to give up dairy. Even when we think we're making good decisions, it doesn't always turn out that way. For years we were told that diesel vehicles were better than petrol...until we weren't!

Acrylics are a difficult one to beat that's for sure and, like you, I don't get on with gouache and it doesn't suit my projects.

But still, I'm looking forward to experimenting with mixing the Zest It wax with some earth pigments I already have in Spain...I've still got a ton of acrylic paint to use up so I won't be making any overnight changes!

2/7/2021 07:09:16 am

Hi, Nela! I hear your longing to find a better alternative than acrylic.

I'm no chemistry expert, but I have the general impression that the good news is that oil is going to start to become the medium of choice again for many present acrylic painters. There seem to be new products coming out in that field to address both toxicity and difficulty of clean-up And it's such a beautiful medium...I doubt that anyone will feel like they are "settling" for the results of oil. :=)

Sam

28/6/2020 01:20:04 pm

How have you gotten on with the Zest It wax and earth pigments? I’m looking into environmentally-friendly painting alternatives too, I’m excited to try earth pigments with oil but also enjoy the practicality of acrylic!

30/6/2020 07:49:49 am

Hi Sam,
Thanks for reading and commenting. I haven't tried the Zest It / pigments combo yet because I came to Spain and got caught in lockdown and it felt like the wrong time to be shipping products across countries.
I'll be heading back to the UK in a couple of weeks and I'm taking some pigment samples with me and will order the wax. If you let me have your email address, I'll send you an update on how I get on.
Best, Cherry

Cindy link

11/9/2020 10:15:48 pm

It is now September 11, 2020 and due to COVID-19, I have yet to put paint to canvas (since March 10 or so of this year). I miss it. In the interim, however, I read two of Daniel Quinn's books, "Ishmael" and "The Story of B" and my life was turned upside down. I have been pursuing reducing my footprint ever since and have made significant changes to my life in many areas.

Perhaps, then, it is a good thing that I haven't been able to paint. You see, I'm an acrylic paint pourer. Finding a way to 'go green' has been on my mind a lot lately, but I cannot imagine giving up floetrol and acrylic paint for what I do or finding substitutes for Elmers glue and silicone.

I am on a quest now for a sustainable way to continue doing what I love. Hopefully I will have the answer by the time I have the means and space to paint again.

Thanks for your efforts to find sustainable solutions. Perhaps your blog and my meager efforts will begin to make a dent in awareness and spark a movement towards sustainability in all areas of our lives.

Love to you on your journey forward,
~C

Cherry Jeffs

14/9/2020 04:50:35 pm

Hey Cindy, thanks for reading and sharing your situation :)

I hadn't heard of Daniel Quinn but having Googled him, I think I have to read those books!

Certainly there's no easy way to 'replace' the materials we're used to using. Luckily, as artists, we're extremely well-placed when it comes to coming up with creative solutions ;)

I have a lot of acrylic paint - particularly in Spain. If I just stop using it, I'm wasting the embodied energy it took to make the paint in the first place. So I'm thinking more of 'transition' from acrylic to different materials. This allows time for experimentation. I don't have to find solutions all at once. Which is just as well as it took me long enough to find my way current way of working!

I'm of the mind that the materials we use are so integral to our process, that we need to approach this in the spirit of exploring new ideas and ways of working. I hope that employing different materials will enrich the work I make rather than subtract from it.

If you'd like to stay in touch and share ideas, drop me an email to contact [dot] cherryjeffs [at] gmail [dot] com or find me on social media :)

Stay safe! Cx

Asma Sareshwala

18/10/2020 04:24:34 pm

Hi! It was so good to come across your page. I’ve recently got into reclaiming ceramic pots by adding clay work and paint on them. I found myself in the similar dilemma. One one hand I’m upcycling for sustainability and on the other hand I’m using acrylics paint on it.
I thought of giving up my work because it was counterproductive in my head. I reached out to people who have more knowledge that I do and from their perspective if you could extend the life of something by small artwork and paint it’s definitely better. I m still on a look out for eco-friendly options to acrylic paint but I know my efforts to sustainability are not entirely a waste if I use acrylic.

22/10/2020 04:19:33 pm

Hi Asma, thanks for sharing your story - and your dilemma! There are clearly no easy answers and we all have to find our own way through as best as we can.

I thought it would be nice to have a place to share ideas and links for artists who are trying to find eco materials to work with. To that end I’ve created a free private community on Mighty Networks (so you don't need to be on social media to join).

It's a place to upload pics of our own work as well as links to books, websites and suppliers of interest and generally chat about our experiences. I’d love it if you would join me there!

Here's the URL:
https://eco-friendly-art.mn.co/share/QrytitzRXti8eGI3?utm_source=manual

Or follow the link I've added to the end of the blogpost.

22/10/2020 11:13:05 pm

Hi cherry! Thank you for the invite I’d love to join. It sounds like fun community 😍

Ben L

2/1/2021 01:16:51 pm

Glad I’m not the only one concerned about this. Rediscovered my paints during COVID and began using them before they all dried, but the smell affected me more than it used to, so ventilation. But got me wondering what was in this paint. It felt like a Hobson’s choice between oils and acrylics.

Wondering if I should use up all my acrylics faster and let it all dry and be done with this chapter since they’ll be wasted otherwise. But what’s an alternative?

The answer, whatever it is, probably will involve natural ways to hold the pigment, then dry in a reasonable amount of time, and also preserve the pigment’s integrity. I figure it’ll behave like glue, or wax, or a natural gel. Maybe it will be a special for of glue or wax or gel?

6/1/2021 01:04:35 pm

Hey Ben, you're definitely not alone! Do come over and join the Eco Artists group where we're talking more about these issues and the solutions that different people are trying.

https://eco-friendly-art.mn.co/share/QrytitzRXti8eGI3?utm_source=manual

I'm definitely on for using up my acrylic paints because of their embodied energy. Plus they'd have to be disposed of somehow anyway so I may as well make art with them!

Alexa Cole link

16/1/2021 02:08:06 am

LOVE this! I'm just starting out with selling my art & want to be as eco-friendly as possible. I'd LOVE to join the Mighty Network once it's up and running.

Nancy Loomis

2/3/2021 06:08:59 pm

I want to get into painting (mostly abstract) and have been struggling about using oil or acrylic. Oil has won out and I have built up what is more of a starter set. No need to buy a ton of expensive paint if it’s not a medium that I’m gonna stick with for the long haul.

What I’ve set on up to this point, (for liquid paint that is...I use other color mediums too.)is water-mixable oils. I just bought a starter set of WN 24 Artisan Water Mixable Oils. But the tubes are really small at 21ml. The mixability is made possible by some tweaking the oil at the molecular level. But we’re not talking about screwing around with human or animal genetic codes, so I think we’re safe there. (And it’s important to note that you shouldn’t add much water to water mixables as it will break them down too much. They are not “watercolor.” Use regular mediums...and there are safe ones like gels, wax and oils that work fine.)

I can use these water mixable with traditional oils I’ve already purchased, but cannot necessarily clean them with just soap and water alone, like I can with the water mixables. With my first brush cleanup with water mixables, I have to say it was a snap! Nice no -smell soap and dish liquid. And no awful fumes of any stronger substances.

And seems there’s a lot of info about using just linseed oil and dish liquid even with straight oil paints. Here’s one link about that: https://jaejohns.com/3-ways-on-how-to-clean-an-oil-paint-brush-without-paint-thinner/

Onward to “clean” art making and creativity!

4/3/2021 04:46:15 pm

Hi Nancy, great to hear that you've found a medium you're excited about :) I used water-soluble oils a long time ago and I also found them very pleasant to use.

My work is paper based so any kind of oils are just not an option for me. Plus I'm very impatient when it comes to drying times 🤣 which is how I came to use acrylics in the first place.

I've started exploring different water-soluble paints in the insides of my books. Once I get that worked out to my satisfaction, I'll move onto finding something for the outsides. Step by step! The new 'eco-acrylics' from naturalearthpaint.com are on my wish-list but they're not available in Europe yet.

As you say, onward to clean art making!

2/7/2021 07:38:14 am

It's possible that all of the ultimate environmentally-conscious solutions will require shifts in our processes.

One shift that comes into my mind has many additional benefits beyond the ecological and might ease the transition a bit,

Have you ever tried working in a series? The idea is to have 6-20 canvasses or panels going at once, working on each in turn for a relatively short period of time....with the very rough aim of bringing them all up to the same level of ""doneness" by the end of each round, The benefits include optimizing the time our brain stats in "fresh" mode.....and avoiding wasting time trying to get "unstuck" as sometimes happens. When one is stuck, one doesn't have to either spin one's wheels or go home. Instead one just puts that canvas aside and moves on to a fresh problem in the next of the series. Another advantage is that we may learn something in one painting that can help us in the others,.This can even be true of the painting on which we are stuck. When we leave a 'stuck" problem, our sub-conscious brains continue to work on that problem and may instantly spot a germ of a solution in a subsequent canvas..

I imagine that this might be a solution for someone who is waiting for oil to dry.

Dorothy

18/7/2021 07:19:14 pm

Hello all
So happy my friend forward me this information.
I read about an Australian company which manufactures non petroleum acrylic paint. https://www.hydrocryl.com.au/
ArtJuice podcast recently featured an eco friendly artist who had many ideas how to be more responsible painters. He has a book out which I will find and post.
I’m still use acrylic paint. As a small step toward non polluting practices I either scrape my palette and never flush paint into water, or I sometimes peel off the skins from my glass palette or paper palette and use again in art. Not a great leap but a bit better than my previous practices.
I am also designing a symbol to let our patrons know we are eco friendly artists and we believe about caring for our planet, our only home and ask others to do the same for the sake of our children.
There is a good IG #artistsforfuture where other like minded makers share.
I’m reaching out to any artists who are interested in speaking out through their work.
Thank you for this opportunity to meet you!

18/7/2021 08:12:00 pm

I'm all for small steps Dorothy. It's very difficult to switch up the way we work all at once and every little change we make is one step towards greater sustainability :) Thanks for stopping by and posting the links.