Toxicity and Safety

Health concerns have made certain art materials made for children are non toxic. Professional artists have no such protection for good reason. Many of the most light resistant colors in existence are poisonous, and artists are expected to be well trained practitioners using materials in a responsible manner. It would be highly undesirable for the Cadmium yellows to become unavailable while no other permanent opaque bright yellows are available to replace them for instance. And even colors like raw and burnt Umber could be carcinogenic due to the manganese content that gives it the dark brown color. Clearly the solution lies in better artist training. As this training is not always part of art courses, all artists should be proactive in seeking knowledge of the properties of materials they use, and learn safe working practices such as never eating or smoking while painting, wearing appropriate protective clothing and avoiding exposing other people to noise, fumes, and dusts produced while making artworks. Safety first should always be the cardinal rule.