Pigments
Painters use pigments in oil paints, acrylics, watercolour paints, gouache, encaustic, poster paints, casein paints and tempera. Sometimes commercial paints such as oil, enamel, epoxy paints and automobile paints are used.
Paints are pigments mixed with a vehicle or binder. Both inorganic and organic pigments are used as colorants. Dry pigments are especially hazardous because they are easily inhaled and ingested.
They are used in encaustic, paper-marbleizing and in the fabrication of paint products, and will be discussed more thoroughly in the section below on pastels.
Water-based Paints
Water-based paints include water-color, acrylic, gouache, tempera and casein. Water is used for thinning and cleanup.
Non Water-based Paints
Oil paints, encaustic and egg tempera use linseed oil, wax and egg respectively as vehicles, although solvents are often used as a thinner and for cleanup. Turpentine and mineral spirits (paint thinner), for example, are used in oil painting mediums, for thinning and for cleaning brushes. Alkyd paints use solvents as their vehicle. In addition many
commercial paints used by artists also contain solvents.
Airbrushes, Spray Cans and Spray Guns
Artists use many products in spray form, including fixatives, retouching sprays, varnishes, and adhesive sprays. Airbrushes, aerosol spray can and spray guns are used.
This includes dust-creatting media such as charcoal and pastels which are often fixed with aerosol spray fixatives, and media such as crayons and oil pastels which do not create dust.
Liquid Drawing Media
This includes both water-based and solvents-based pen and ink and felt tip markers. Hazards of dry erase or white board markers can be considered here, although they are more used in teaching or commercial art.
