Why I use Natural Paint

6 months into starting to paint, with a studio space full of hundred of tubes of acrylic paint, I made the decision that I didn’t want to use my materials any more, but that, instead, I wanted to work with natural pigments and make my own paint.

It was a scary move. I felt as if painting had and was continuing to save me; this process that allowed me to feel and release so much, to express such joy and sorrow, was healing me after a very tumultuous first year as a Mother.

So, what was I doing? I’d only just got a handle on how to use acrylics. I didn’t know  anything about natural pigments and making your own paint! What if I couldn’t carry on?

But, even though that warning rung loud in my head, I knew that I couldn’t continue the way I was. It felt wrong. I had to take a step into the unknown. So, I sold all my acrylics and started on a path to creating with nature.

Why did I want to use natural paints?

I’m on a deeply committed health journey.

I live simply and naturally – I prepare 100% of my family’s food from local produce, I don’t use toiletries, I can’t remember the last time I popped a pill of any kind. Being in such close quarters with acrylics – with their chemical pigments, plastic carriers and potentially toxic fillers just didn’t fit with that. Fumes entering my lungs, chemicals being absorbed through my skin, art around me created in this way – it just wasn’t me.

I didn’t want to use plastic.

Acrylic paint is a plastic-water solution in which pigments are held. Plastic requires energy to produce and never biodegrades – every piece ever made is still in existence somewhere. I live right on the coast in Cornwall; daily I see plastic washed up on the beach I visit with my son. It pollutes our waters, dirties our shores and gets in our food chain. The World Health Organisation recently produced a report that stated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea.

I try hard to minimise the use of plastic in my life – I buy second-hand, I don’t have lots of stuff, I use natural products and clothing. I feel bad when I see the amount of plastic that, despite all these measures, I have around me. Painting for me is about being the real me, being joyful, expressing – and I felt out of integrity using plastic.

I didn’t want to be washing toxic paint down my sink.

Every time I cleaned my brushes off and wiped remaining paint down the sink at the end of a painting session, I felt guilty. As much as you can be advised to wipe off your brush with a cloth, use up old paint on a new canvas, or let it dry and scrape it off your palette, you can’t do this for 100% of your left-over paint. There is always some washed down the sink. And that puts whatever is in the paint into our water systems – the chemical fillers, the potentially toxic pigments and the plastic carriers.

My art is in so many ways a celebration of nature; it’s created by the Alison who reveres and longs to be at one with nature. I couldn’t continue to pour something so unnatural down my drain, pushing aside the fact that it was most certain to cause disruption and harm.

So, how’s the journey, of 18 months so far, turned out?

Well, first have a peek at some images: You can see my first collection of 100% natural art here.

It’s led me on an amazing path of learning.

I have researched, read, discovered, tested, learnt, tested again, failed, picked myself up, learnt more and made some real joy along the way. It’s been eye-opening and brought me to life more than I ever imagined it could – as I’m developing something I feel in integrity with.

It’s helped me forge an ever-deepening connection with myself and the world around me.

Living in integrity with your values cannot be understated – it brings so much peace, satisfaction and joy. Through choosing to paint as naturally as I can, I like myself more, and that’s softened things around me, helping me feel and connect with everything in my life. In addition, I’m so passionate about what I’m doing that my practice lights me up!

It’s helping me find my people.

I’ve never fitted into mainstream and choosing natural art has meant I don’t fit into the standard artist template either – high street art stores have little appeal, I can’t share a studio and I don’t get excited about tubes of paint. Painting this way has seen me search for and reach out to others on a parallel journey. I’ve met and communed with people that I joyfully can share and be myself with.

This journey started with a niggle – moments of discomfort. I didn’t dismiss them, but instead, listened. I’m so glad I did. Taking the leap and following something which seemed crazy, uneconomical, hard-work and daunting has transformed my world!