Fort Hill Summer

Oil, Image size 8 x 8"

SOLD

This piece is one of my few forays into oils.

For reasons I do not entirely understand, the art market often appears to favor oil paintings, and so I have ventured into that arena a bit, though pastel remains my favorite medium by far. I have traditionally stayed away from oils due to their toxic nature (cadmium and cobalt, used extensively in oils are heavy metals and highly toxic, and we won't even talk about all those solvents!). However, recent advances in chemistry have brought along the Water Miscible (or mixable) Oils, with their oil base being modified so that these paints can be thinned and cleaned with water. Further, pigments have been developed that can make close approximations of many of the toxic pigments so widely used. So, I have ventured in with a great deal of research. The oils I do are done with water miscible oil paints (and I have waited long enough to be certain the archival data is showing equal if not superior longevity for these paints if used properly), and I utilize only pigments that are non-toxic (no cobalt, no cadmium--all pigments I have are AP certified non-toxic to ASTM standards). I am compulsively careful about creating as little waste as possible, especially given the fragile environment in which I work..