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Cleaning your Oil Painting Brushes Without Solvents
Courtesy of M. Graham & Co. – an environmentally conscious company
Cleaning
To avoid solvents while cleaning your oil painting brushes, use walnut oil in place of turpentine or odorless mineral spirits.
Walnut oil removes color from the artist's brush, palette or hands as effectively as odorless paint thinners without creating a hazard to the individual or the environment. Walnut oil is a natural vegetable oil that does not evaporate neither does it remove essential oils from the artist's skin or the hair of the brush.
To clean brushes while painting, keep two small jars (one "dirty"-one "clean") filled with walnut oil-a small piece of screening can be kept in the jar bottom to facilitate removal of color from the brush. As it becomes necessary to clean your brush, wipe the brush with a rag, dip into the first jar of oil rubbing vigorously to dislodge any color, wipe the oil from the brush and dip the brush into the second jar to remove any remaining color. A final wipe with your rag to remove any left over oil completes the process.
Since Walnut Oil is slow drying, the same method can be used at the end of the day. If the brushes are to be put aside for a week or more, a final washing in mild soap and water is recommended.*
*If you will be using them the next day, it works well to simply keep them in a jar of salad oil...
