I wonder ....if we stopped making acrylic paint, how much impact that would have on reducing the use of fossil fuel. There are lots of unnecessary big users of fossil fuel like polyester fabric (I'm not saying we don't need some, but certainly not the volumes we currently produce)
Then we could carry on driving our cars, where public transport isn't accessible?
I've tried to find concrete numbers about the carbon footprint of the paint industry but it's very complicated. Petroleum based paints like acrylic, are extremely energy intensive to produce and create toxic waste as a by-product, but the amount artists use is miniscule compared to say, the building industry or car industry. I mean, if I paint my house with a standard latex paint (derived from petroleum) that negates ALL of the work I've done trying to be more sustainable in my art practice. It's complicated! There are lots of great non-petroleum based paints on the market now but very few marketed towards artists. Thanks for your comment :)
I save my sewer pipes by washing brushes and emptying paint water into a bowl which then goes into a two bucket system outside. I wash my hands there too (although I give them a second wash when I come back into the house). I did a YouTube video on it. https://youtu.be/25C3NjSabuE?si=obYX1_zQXNxPViED
Brilliant video! I use a similar system, filtering my waste water, but I must use way more water than you because it doesn’t fit into one bucket. Your video cut out before I could see what happens with your two bucket system😫 How do you dispose of the filtered water? This is what I used to put down the drain in my old house but as you say, it still has microplastics in it, so I won’t do that in this new “old” house. Thanks so much! x
Might be because I don’t paint every day and some of it evaporates in the bowl. I just “leave it” until the water evaporates. The stockings help keep mosquitos out from laying eggs too. We had a big rainy season last year and I was beginning to wonder if I needed to start a second bucket!
Well you’ve inspired me to have another go. I think the bucket system is feasible in Seattle in summer but not in winter since we get so much rain, unless i build a bucket shelter🙃 Will report back on how I get on. Thanks for the conversation🙏🏼
This is conflicting for photographers that use film as well. Am constantly trying to find ways to reduced/reuse/recycle when possible (e.g. the solargraphs using thrifted/gifted photo paper and making cameras out of things from the recycling bin). And alongside the environmental impact of using chemicals to produce images - the cost of film and development have shot up since the pandemic (a roll of bnw Kodak TriX was about $4.99 a roll pre-pandemic and it's now $11.99/roll. Dev at my local shop was about $7 for development and scanning per roll - now it's $14.) So now I have to rethink photography a bit as my go-to was always my vintage cameras.
I think this may be the push I needed to move to an even more sustainable framework for my work. We'll see! Also, I had no idea about paint and how it takes so much energy to make!
You’re a very thoughtful, mindful maker and good at not churning out work for the sake of it, which I think is number one on the list of how to be more sustainable.
I wonder ....if we stopped making acrylic paint, how much impact that would have on reducing the use of fossil fuel. There are lots of unnecessary big users of fossil fuel like polyester fabric (I'm not saying we don't need some, but certainly not the volumes we currently produce)
Then we could carry on driving our cars, where public transport isn't accessible?
I've tried to find concrete numbers about the carbon footprint of the paint industry but it's very complicated. Petroleum based paints like acrylic, are extremely energy intensive to produce and create toxic waste as a by-product, but the amount artists use is miniscule compared to say, the building industry or car industry. I mean, if I paint my house with a standard latex paint (derived from petroleum) that negates ALL of the work I've done trying to be more sustainable in my art practice. It's complicated! There are lots of great non-petroleum based paints on the market now but very few marketed towards artists. Thanks for your comment :)
I save my sewer pipes by washing brushes and emptying paint water into a bowl which then goes into a two bucket system outside. I wash my hands there too (although I give them a second wash when I come back into the house). I did a YouTube video on it. https://youtu.be/25C3NjSabuE?si=obYX1_zQXNxPViED
Brilliant video! I use a similar system, filtering my waste water, but I must use way more water than you because it doesn’t fit into one bucket. Your video cut out before I could see what happens with your two bucket system😫 How do you dispose of the filtered water? This is what I used to put down the drain in my old house but as you say, it still has microplastics in it, so I won’t do that in this new “old” house. Thanks so much! x
Might be because I don’t paint every day and some of it evaporates in the bowl. I just “leave it” until the water evaporates. The stockings help keep mosquitos out from laying eggs too. We had a big rainy season last year and I was beginning to wonder if I needed to start a second bucket!
Well you’ve inspired me to have another go. I think the bucket system is feasible in Seattle in summer but not in winter since we get so much rain, unless i build a bucket shelter🙃 Will report back on how I get on. Thanks for the conversation🙏🏼
Humidity might be a key point to look at too. Hope it works out! Mine hangs out under the eaves of my studio shed.
This is conflicting for photographers that use film as well. Am constantly trying to find ways to reduced/reuse/recycle when possible (e.g. the solargraphs using thrifted/gifted photo paper and making cameras out of things from the recycling bin). And alongside the environmental impact of using chemicals to produce images - the cost of film and development have shot up since the pandemic (a roll of bnw Kodak TriX was about $4.99 a roll pre-pandemic and it's now $11.99/roll. Dev at my local shop was about $7 for development and scanning per roll - now it's $14.) So now I have to rethink photography a bit as my go-to was always my vintage cameras.
I think this may be the push I needed to move to an even more sustainable framework for my work. We'll see! Also, I had no idea about paint and how it takes so much energy to make!
You’re a very thoughtful, mindful maker and good at not churning out work for the sake of it, which I think is number one on the list of how to be more sustainable.