A few weeks ago I attended the Broward County Red Cross Designer Showcase. When I got to the beautiful houses on Las Olas, I was told that the art was all “eco-friendly”. What I discovered was the paint used through out all the homes was a new low-odor, evironmentally friendly housepaint. But I was also told that all the art/painting on the walls are “green”. I think the host was confused as to paint on the walls being this new enviromentally safe product, to what he thought was paintings of seashells and palm trees. But it did get me thinking. All the art in the houses had a nature them, beaches, sand, seashells, ocean views, florals etc. But all the art was made from oil or acrylic paint. All of which use chemicals, mineral spirits, turpentine, mediums, and what is not used is tossed in the garbage or washed down the sink. This is probably why I work in encaustics. The stuff is beeswax and it never goes to waste. Almost everything that I use is recycled. I paint on wood, there is no washing of brushes, the beeswax has no chemicals in it, the damar is from trees, I don’t waste any paint. Once I mix a color, I can just remelt it and it never goes to waste. Wax, to me is the true “eco-friendly” product. The only thing that I really use is electricity, which is generated by some plant that adds to the carbon output. But I can’t eliminate everything. To me the real “green” art is not the subject matter, it is the media.
