Can an artist work without exposure to chemicals or hazardous solvents?
I have met a lot of people who don't want to work in oils because of the hazardous fumes and chemicals. I was one of them and, in fact, way back in college in many years ago; I took a studio painting class in which we all used paint thinner and I even ignorantly rinsed the paint of my hands with it!
After some research on the subject, I believe that you can work in oil and still avoid paint thinners and other hazardous chemicals. I thought I would post here how I work in oils. Here is a photo of two of the flow mediums I work with when I am oil painting. The two pictured are Walnut Alkyd, Safflower, and I also use Linseed oil. I add a little of these oils to my paint when I need to increase flow, but end up using very little of them. I pour a tablespoon or so of each into 3 tiny mason jars and choose from them as I paint. Safflower should be used sparingly, but doesn't yellow as linseed tends to. Walnut oil is good overall, but I tend to use it with darker pigments and save the safflower for lighter pigments. If you keep them in the fridge between uses, they will stay fresh for months.
On the oil paint tubes, you will either see an "AP" or a "CL" - the AP means it is safe to use and the CL means it has hazardous properties. All my oil paints have the AP label, and I tend to use Winsor and Newton's Winton oil paints.
To clean my brushes, I use a little jar of "The Masters" brush cleaner and preserver. It is a solid substance that looks soap-like and after wiping off my brushes, I load them up with this and rinse them. It takes a long time to use the jar up, so one little jar can last for months.
look for the AP label
Master’s brush cleaner works great