Household Hazardous Waste: Hennepin County

Hennepin County, Minnesota offers several Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events throughout the year. Here is their web address.

There is also a drop off facility in Bloomington. Click here for more information.

Artist materials may be considered Household Hazardous Waste. I plan to bring my collection of lead based paints and aeresols to the drop off facility soon.

I will let you know how it goes.

More great books

I am reading a few books on the technique of painting (mostly oil painting). One is a collection of essays by a professor of painting. It was originally published in 1934. This book is filled with rich content on the materials and techniques of the masters from preparing grounds. The book is The Materials of the Artist and their Use in Painting by Max Dörner (or Doerner). It is still in print and available from Amazon. There is a Doerner Institute in Munich that continues the authors work, studying and conserving paintings, artist materials and techniques. The institute is at the Neue Pinakothek (new painting museum) in Munich.

The other book I am reading on technique is Sir Charles Eastlake's Methods and Materials of the Great Schools and Masters. Also still in print even though it was originally published in the middle of the 19th century. This is a history of oil painting. I have only read up to the early renaissance but what I have covered so far has been captivating. If you are interested in painting and its history this is a great read.

I am interested in pursuing this research in the hopes that in my own studies I missed a material or technique that will be useful to me. So far I have found that I have a good studio practice. I have discovered a few things that I want to experiment with. I will post more on those later (increasing the amount of oil in final paint layers ala fat over lean, mediums/dilutents, and the use of a reflective material in my light colors to increase luminosity).

It is scary to read about all of the chemicals that were once considered safe to use: barium, strongtium, lead, cadmium, cobalt, arsenic, etc. Many of these are still used today to make artists colors for all media. While I have worked to eliminate my studio of obvious carcinogens and poisons, I still use cadmium and cobalt colors. I plan to post about what to do when you decide to no longer use the toxic or poisonous materials you have purchased.

I will post more about the techniques and materials that I find useful or extra interesting as I come across them.

Hint hint: if you find yourself wondering what sort of gift to give me on an appropriate gift giving occasion either of these books would be wonderful (I borrowed them from MCAD's library).

Great book: Velazquez: the Technique of Genius

By Jonathan Brown and Carmen Garrido

This book is a scientific look at the painting technique of one of history's greatest painters. The text is written in accessible language and is illustrated with color pictures. 15 of the masters works are investigated. The resulting narrative includes information as to what support was used, how it was prepared, and the pigments and carriers used in his paint.

I was fascinated to learn that he mixed ground calcium carbonate into his paints to increase optical luminosity. I have read that Rembrandt added ground glass into his paints to achieve a similar result. I had a teacher in art school who used the glass beads that make highway signs reflective in his paint. This is something I want to experiment with.

I will post further research soon.