What do I do with my PAINT WATER?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2022
- Hello everyone! Today's video is a shorter one than usual, but it addresses a questioned I'm asked all the time here on RUclips: What do I do with my paint water?
* Supplies *
I have created watercolor palettes in collaboration with Da Vinci Paint Co. Your purchase of these palettes and other purchases made with the affiliate links below helps to support two small businesses and this channel:
Da Vinci Paint Co: davincipaints.com/?aff=9
Denise’s Earth Friendly Palette (half pans): bit.ly/3A6B5CY
Denise’s Earth Friendly Palette (tubes): bit.ly/3NXnX8R
Denise’s Earth Friendly Refill Set: bit.ly/3G9VmLu
Denise’s Wildlife Palette: bit.ly/3NXAgSA
You can find all my favorite and most used supplies here: www.amazon.com/shop/inliquidcolor
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jackson's Art links are also affiliate links in which a small percentage of the sale supports this channel without costing you more. Thank you for your support!
Jackson's Affiliates: bit.ly/2HztjHF
* Support & Shop *
Website: www.denisesoden.com
Patreon: / inliquidcolor
Skillshare: skl.sh/denisesoden
Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/denisesoden
RedBubble: www.redbubble.com/people/denis...
* Follow *
Instagram: / inliquidcolor
Twitter: / inliquidcolor
I actually do work in water resources so I have a little bit of insight on this. My concern with folks dumping heavy metal pigments down the sink would be in situations where their graywater is not being treated at an actual wastewater treatment facility. Here in MN, if you’re connected to City sewer, all that sink water is being treated at a facility before being discharged back into the environment. Each facility treats for heavy metals differently, so you can always do research into your City’s treatment processes. On the other hand if your area handles graywater differently or you aren’t connected to a municipal sanitary sewer, that’s when I would really be very careful about what is going down the sink drain. And for heaven’s sake please don’t dump paint water (or anything else) into the storm drains on the streets because those are typically directly connected to waterways without any treatment.
Thank you so much for the additional information, Erin! Much appreciated! I should have also mentioned in the video, in addition to storm drains, not to dump water on the ground when you're plein air painting. Hopefully that goes without saying 😅
@@InLiquidColor There was a video of an "artist" scrubbing, scraping & hosing down her Acrylic painting in her yard & bragging how liberating it was. When I of course "rudely" commented it would be best NOT to dump, pour, rinse plastic & pigment into the earth she (and many others) got quite offended. So, I am afraid this doesn't go without saying. Thank YOU for saying it!
@@michelemarchesani5139 Oh no!! That's so sad to hear. We definitely don't need more plastics in our soil :(
@Erin Edison Thanks so much for this information! How about dumping paint water down the toilet? Does that also end up in the sewers? Is it treated differently? Where I live, I know that solid matters in sewage is allowed to settle before the water is discharged, but I have no idea whether heavy metals are treated. Would heavy metal pigments settle to the bottom in a treatment tank?
@@awatercolourist it really depends where you live. In my area, it all goes to a wastewater treatment facility via sanitary sewer, but treatment processes vary drastically between facilities themselves. Admittedly I am not a wastewater expert specifically so I don’t have a ton of knowledge of specific processes and behaviors of metals in those environments, but particularly in the timeframe involved there should be a specific process aside from settling that is involved. Some of those processes involve adding other chemical substances to the water that the metals will readily attach to and make them heavier so they will settle out.
I would actually encourage everyone to research where their specific wastewater goes and call someone at that facility to ask these questions. That knowledge can help you understand responsible disposal of all kinds of things. Some treatment facilities are so advanced and proud of their processes that they even have all this information on their website or provide tours of their facilities. Stinky, but very interesting and very enlightening!
For those who want to go a step further to keep dangerous pigments out of your envitonment or your tabwater: Filter it. Give your used face mask (bei it FFP2 or a hospital mask) another purpose after you have worn it to death, and pour your water color into a bigger jar through this mask. Do it carefull though, but once you are done, the pigments are pretty much all in the mask. The filtered water can be poured away now and the mask can be left to dry before next use. Once you can't use it anymore, store it inside a container or smth (I use an old acrylic paint bucket that also has some leftover dried acrylic paint which needs to go to the hazardous waste facility anyway) and dispose of it in a safe way that is possible in your area. Of course those will have to be replaced frequently, but for that you can be sure that far more of the dangerous pigments don't end up in the environment and waterways.
You can alternatively filter through used paper towels or coffee filter bags after they are dry, but they will need to be replaced even faster. You can of course use unused ones, but i prefer to take what would go into the trash bin anyway.
Or you can just try to stay away from those pigments of course, but it's hard. It really is. Once you tried Schminckes Cobalt Turquoise though, it will be impossible.
Does the mask method really work for you? I tried to filter paint water through a surgical mask, and it just wouldn't flow through - from either side! The water was just puddling on top of the mask. Paper towels seem like they'd dissolve pretty fast. I don't use coffee filters, but that may be the only viable option.
Great advice with the masks! Going to start using that right away! Thank you for the tips!
I only use non-toxic pigments, but honestly, non-toxic to humans doesn’t mean non-toxic to wildlife so I should probably start doing this as well.
This might sound a little silly but I actually like using my leftover paint in palettes to do mini paintings and wash exercises! i try my best to get creative so i clean my palette less often and use up as much paint as i can on it until i need to do some really big wash that'll take a lot of space; sometimes letting the colors of my palette define my inspirations for the day when ive hit art block too! and i think practicing flat and gradated washes are watercolor fundamentals that we usually tend to ignore once we hit the intermediate/advanced stages of our painting journeys but i find its very nice to go back to the basics sometimes and doing it whenever my palette gets too dirty is therapeutic and a good way of making sure i do it regularly too! of course this frequency may change depending on your types of paintings/palettes so it might not be for everyone, but thats my method
Yeah, a lot of people (self included) use “pallet dirt” as a neutral color or for practice painting.
What great ideas, Amanda! Using your palette "dirt" to let your creativity flow & practice fundamentals is a terrific way in which to allow yourself to grow as an artist! I will definitely be taking up your suggestions.
Yes, I too wipe my brush on the back of old paintings or sketchbook paper between colors. Then I turn these papers into bookmarks for a charity I got the idea of wiping the brushes between colors from CreationsCeeCee. It does save lots of dirty water!
Thanks for this. I use a tea or coffee filter to catch pigments from my decanted dirty water (like you, I let the dirty water sit overnight after use). After pouring the rest of the dirty water through the paper filter, I let the filter dry. I collect them and dispose of them together with special garbage (paints, solvents) for which my city offers a special container in their recycling facilities. Tea and coffee filters are inexpensive and easy to use; they collect all small particles, so I am confident nothing horrible goes to the water disposal. Thanks for offering these tips, Denise, much appreciated.
That's a great tip! Thanks so much for sharing, Berolina!
I too do the same thing. Let my water sit and then pour the top portion through a coffee filter. Works great to capture the small particles of pigment. 😊
@@creativecolours2022 this is not fully accurate. I replied to your other comment with more information. If your house plants love it, then great! But please don't dump your water on native plants or while plein air painting.
@@creativecolours2022 You are welcome to do whatever you want with your own houseplants, but please don't spread misinformation in my comments section. I have plants that don't even like tap water, and plants can be fertilized with worm castings (which I do in an apartment and they're thriving).
I am completely fine with you sharing what you do in your own home as a personal statement, and thank you for doing so. However, making broad statements that paint water is safe for all plants, all pigments come from the ground, and that cadmium is the only toxic pigment is untrue and ultimately harmful to our environment.
(Edited a typo.)
@@InLiquidColor It is not misinformation to talk about something that I have already tested and works. But ok.. I have no problem. I'll delete my comments from your comments section Denise.
Some years ago btw I had used with your permission your photos for some of my paintings. It seems though that I don't have your permission to talk about my own experiences here.
Apologies.
A much needed video. It's exactly what most brands suggest to do with leftover paint or water. ❤️
Hi Lana! It's funny how we were discussing this just a few days ago!
@@awatercolourist I agree! It's a crazy coincidence, but it also shows how much this information is needed and that we should share it. :)
@@LanaGoesArt Oh, yes, I totally agree.
I was actually thinking about how to dispose paint water. Although I don't use any real cobalt or cadmium paints, I would still love to avoid to dump the water down the drain (as I did so far). This video comes in handy, even though I need to do a little research as I live in France. Thank you Denise 💕
I have smaller jars and let the water evaporate almost complete and then fill the pigments in a pan. I got amazing greys and browns out of this practice. Especially when I used metallic paints too.
so glad to find this video! for several years now my process has been nearly identical to yours, old teeshirts are cut up for rags,( i share these with my students to get them in the habit). Really dirty rags get used for palette cleanup then disposed of. Over the years i have managed to reduce use of the heavy metal paints, but when i do use them the wash water goes into a 2 quart tub, after 2 years it is nowhere full. For those skeptics out there, a friend killed her houseplants by watering them with her wash water!
Very good ideas Denise, rather like Lindsay's Frugal Friday Tips she has been posting! When I was living at home we were on a well and I had a Terra Cotta pot I had gravel in, Bigger stones on the bottom gradually getting smaller as it went up! I would just dump my paint water in this pot that sat out on the back porch. It never filled up and all I got were colorful rocks! I do not believe I ever had troubles with it. Honestly I have no idea what my Mom ended up doing with it, as it is no longer at the ol' homestead and now I do the ever reducing gunk at the bottom of the pigment jar, like you. So good to see you posting, I look forward to more content from your ever capable hands!
Thank you for this! I’ve heard of others doing something similar but at the end clean the deposited pigment with a paper towel and disposing it. Although currently I do not have the conditions to do this this is definitely something that I will look into doing in the future. Perhaps pierce some holes on the lid to let the water evaporate but prevent access by small kids or accidental spills
This was a great video to post. I try to do my part as much as I can, even if I do sometimes fall short and one of them was the paint disposal. I always thought that the place to drop all of these items off was far away (being in a smaller city that relays heavily on a bigger city for everything). And after looking at the city website, I found so many local places to recycle items and paints I wasn't even aware of! So thanks for this and for making me look deeper into my city and my artist waste.
I'm new to my art path and just started learning to use watercolor paint. Thank you so very much for this video!
It’s the part I’ve always been thinking about while using watercolor paint. I’m trying to reduce waste as much as possible for a number of reasons, but I found a new solution in your video. Thank you 😊
Thanks for the reminder on how to safely dispose of our watercolor paints!
Great video. Thanks.
I remember when you cleaned your paint palette, the idea of using paper towel to clean up excess colors was amazing. I have well water so it was revolutionary to me. So simple. Thank you for sharing this information 💜💙
Thank you so much for this video!! ❤❤
Thank you for the heads up on this issue. I also try really hard to consider my impact on the environment. I had not considered the hazard of my paint water. I try to minimize the harmful pigments that I use, but I still have some tubes of cadmium pigments purchased when I was just starting out in watercolor painting and did not understand the toxicity of these pigments. Again, thanks so much for the information and practical solutions.
Thx for addressing this, great ideas.
Thank you so much for making this video 😊. I'm a beginner in watercolor painting and the main reason why I chose watercolor is that a little goes a long way and the fact that watercolors don't expire except for when molds grow. Whereas other mediums like acrylic are cheap but since they don't last that long bcz you need to use large amounts of it I didn't want to get into acrylics. And oil painting is.....ahem.... EXPENSIVE so I decided to go with watercolor and seeing your video made me realize it's a good decision. Thanks again Denise 🤍
This is very helpful. I do use cobalt and I’d been pouring paint water into the toilet partly to keep the sink cleaner, but perhaps that’s not enough. I already use paper towels, I hadn’t thought of a fabric towel though I have old ones spare (we keep a lot, my mum likes a good old towel cleaning rag).
I’m allergic to the fumes of oil, including watermixables, acrylic and pastel dust, and was fed up of cleaning oils even when I’ve used a mask while painting, plus arm pain on using pencils and blending oil pastels, I’ve ended up loving watercolours all the more.
Need to check my paint info for what’s toxic to aquatic life, as well as being aware of what to use with a mask if it’s in an airspray, though I don’t do that yet. I have two tubes of Cotman cerulean hue and the newer one suddenly has a safety note about a biocide in it, I think they just updated the labelling to say it can irritate the skin. Internet tells me the ingredient is to prevent mold.
Thing is, on reading the Safety Data Sheet, there’s more info and it includes toxicity to aquatic life too. All the paints in the range, not just certain metals. Those documents are useful to read, though a little confusing with some of the technical info.
Great video - I've been doing something similar to what your doing for a while. Recently I've been experimenting with using coffee filters to aid in large particle removal, but I want to improve my cleaning process. Gonna try adding a charcoal filter to my setup. I'm thinking of using either aquarium charcoal or reusing a Pure water filter that has expired, giving it a second life.
Thanks for sharing!
Ahh, thank you for this video! I've been looking at bits from your past videos that talk about this like your Sennelier Swatch with Me. I want to give some colors a try like Quinacridone Gold, but I was contemplating if it's worth the environmental risks and care it needs
I use one of those filter carafes with a charcoal filter to filter pigments and reuse water as I paint. Probably not perfect but the water comes out pretty clean and I don’t need to get new water from the tap as often.
I think there’s also something like sand to harden and dispose of paint water but I’ve never tried it.
Oooo I hadn't thought of using an old brush to loosen up paint in my water cups!
I got really tired of using toilet paper then one day realized, wait I have something for this haha.
You can also try pouring the paint waster into fresh kitty litter and disposing of that in a bag. I do this when painting outside.
When using acrylics, I always get as much on a rag (old tshirt) as possible, then wet it (without contaminating the water jar) and do it again. The rag dries out way quicker than waiting for the rinsing jar to settle/evaporate.
If my paint water goes down the sink, it literally ends up immediately in the canal! My kitchen sink is only for `grey` wastewater, which means I can't even use things like bleach.
Thank you for the tip for acrylics!
This is basically exactly how I dispose of my paint water as well! I make my own watercolours and while the individual waste from each colour isn't lot, maybe a deciliter/half a cup of paint water in total from rinsing off all the equipment, it gathers up quite quickly the more colours you make. My preferred method is to collect all of it in a larger plastic tub and let it evaporate. It leaves a kind of gummy, rubbery mat of binder and pigment and the plastic allows it to just peel right off. I then store these chunks until I have enough to bring to my city's hazardous waste disposal. Downside is it takes a heck of a long time for a whole ice cream tub of water to evaporate, and if you're unlucky it can start to smell, but it's the most eco friendly way and takes no extra effort or materials at all. I have tried the filtering method as well but found only the largest particles, like earth pigments, get trapped in the filter. Even with triple or quadruple coffee filters at once the majority of paint will just seep right through, so that's a no from me.
Thank you for this! I don't know if this is good or bad but I collect my watercolour water and then when I do a total clean out of my cat's litter boxes I pour it in the dirty litter to be disposed of.
Brilliant!! I might just try this myself.
Should we be concern with VOCs, volatile organic compounds, escaping into the air when evaporating brush water?
According to chatGBT:
The concern about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) escaping into the air when evaporating watercolor brush water is generally low. Here's why:
1. **Composition of Watercolors**: Traditional watercolors primarily consist of pigments and a water-soluble binder, usually gum arabic. They typically do not contain high levels of VOCs as compared to other art materials like oil paints or acrylics, which can contain solvents and other compounds that release VOCs.
2. **Evaporation Process**: When you allow the water from your watercolor brush water to evaporate, what you're primarily releasing into the air is water vapor. The pigments and binders, being more solid, will settle at the bottom as you mentioned.
3. **Low VOC Content**: While it's possible that there might be trace amounts of VOCs in some watercolor additives or in very small quantities from the pigments or binders, the concentration and quantity are likely to be very low, especially in comparison to products specifically known for high VOC emissions like certain varnishes, solvents, or oil-based paints.
However, it's always a good practice to work in a well-ventilated area, especially if you're working with any kind of art materials for extended periods. This ensures that any fumes, even those in low concentrations, are adequately dispersed.
In the context of research and education, examining the specific composition of the watercolors you're using and the safety data sheets provided by the manufacturer can give more precise information on any potential hazards, including the presence of VOCs. However, the general consensus in the art community is that the risks from evaporating watercolor brush water are minimal.
watercolour water i just put down the drain, but if i was still painting with oils, i would be taking it to the skip and they have a waste disposal program
You should see how many acrylic paint jars I have saved up to use as washes on my large paintings.
Oh my gosh....I just realized the jars I use are Talenti ice cream jars also! 😂😅😂
Ha! They're such a great size, and the lids are nice too :)
@@InLiquidColor
What about rinsing and cleaning your brushes when you're done for the day? Is it best to do it in a clean jar of water or is it ok to hold them under the faucet with running water.
I just rinse them in my cleaner water jar. It's fine to wash them off in the sink, just don't let the sit on a wet counter or damp towel or the paint can start chipping off. I clean my brushes with brush soap maybe a couple times a year for a good cleaning, but otherwise I don't worry too much with watercolor.
Héél belangrijk, dit soort filmpjes mis ik nog veel, .. veel andere verfsoorten gaan ook door de gootsteen dit kan en mag niet hier moet veel aandacht voor komen!
I think it might be time to let my water sit overnight. My process might go faster. 😅 I currently use a metal mesh coffee filter with two-three paper filters lining the inside. It's quite slow by itself but it works pretty well.
Eh, i hope you don't use that metal mesh cofee filter for making coffee too. Have you tried replacing the paper filters with used hospital masks? Works amazing for me, and i have still tons of those masks (as well as FFP2 masks) still lying around in a box.
@@olgahein4384 Oh gosh, I don't even want to imagine. 😂😂 Fortunately, it stays with all of the other paint filtering supplies in its designated bathroom cabinet.
I have not tried hospital masks, but that sounds like a fantastic way to get some extra use out of them before they have to be pitched!! It might be slower, since they are thicker and likely a tighter weave. I never had a stash of them, so I couldn't be sure, but it still sounds like a great idea!
Yes every bit we do does help. Being vegan is best for the animals the environment and yourself!
And not supporting zoos and aquariums, where animals are kept in cages .
Hi Denise, thanks for the great content as always. I’d love to take a class but I just haven’t been able yet. I have an off topic question for you (or anyone else who reads this). Does Dr Martins Bleedproof white damage brushes? I googled that but didn’t find the answer. Thanks in advance
Nope! It's water based (think very opaque gouache).
@@InLiquidColor Thanks so much! 😁☮️
One time I was disposing of dirty watercolor water in the sink and the glass jar accidentally slipped out of my hands and cracked the sink!
Depending on what country you're in, those Talenti gelato cups are the perfect size for me for water cups if you don't want to use glass. They're plastic, stout, and wide so they don't easily tip over but also aren't too tall.
@@InLiquidColor good suggestion! I am in the USA by the way. And I have recently switched to a plastic cup, but still prefer the glass one. Take care! :)
But throwing away those (toxic metal) towel contaminate the environment as much, maybe not in water, but certainly goes to environment.
Yes. It's still waste, as is everything we discard. However, it is better for the earth hold them than our waterways.
I don’t get it. When a paper towel goes to the landfill those toxic substances are released into the environment.
Painting creates waste, period. There's no way around that. However, a landfill is better than our waterways.
I dump a shot of gin in it and offer it to unwary visitors.