Stumble It!It’s kind of surprising to think that so many artists who take their inspiration from nature are blindly polluting our world.
I suspect that there is a certain amount of pollution that we tolerate to live the lives we do, and some is inevitable. But I do a lot to try and reduce my impact on the planet (and my families impact too) and that doesn’t stop when I sit down in front of my easel.
Firstly I always try to use paper that has less impact than some others. I use recycled paper when it’s appropriate to do that, I also use windpower produced papers and papers that can be recycled. I use a lot of cotton paper, and I’m still researching the benefits of that, although for now it is the best choice for my watercolour art.
I use watercolour paints which is generally not bad for the planet, in that there is little waste, and even though I am a “wet” painter I don’t actually use that much water and try to reuse my water as much as possible while I’m painting.
For my acrylic work I never wash my palette after a painting session... pouring all that paint into the water system is something that doesn’t sit well with me. So I save all my paint on the palette to dry, then when the layers on my palette are thick enough I roll them off and save these “skins” for collage projects eliminating the need for paint to go into the water system almost entirely. I also try to filter my rinse water through coffee filters to try and get the biggest particles out.
Finally, and this is something that I don’t really advertise, I contribute a portion of all my art sales to green charities. Some years the contributions are larger than others. The choice of my charity is personal to me, I choose as best I can charities that are not political or religious in affiliation. I think there are enough people supporting those, I try to give where I think it is needed the most and where I think the money will go the furthest to solving my personal environmental concerns.
