Overture
As a kind of pedant and Nature’s lover, sometime I track myself with a kind of unusual obsessions. But I am raising this questions because they are already appeared in my mind.
So, I have, lets call it a “planet-polluting phobia“. Sometimes I feel empathically, in regards to Nature’s life, how my actions add a destruction and disturbance to our planet. I try to use as less plastic as possible, have switched to DIY hygienic products from January 2019, I use my own bottles and utensils at pick nicks or other places outside, my packaging materials at a market for food shopping, but always find something else not done! What I am talking about?
Pollution in art (or “art”?)
When I watch YouTube videos showing “simple techniques with acrylics”, using lots of plastic cups and straws just to pour the synthetics (acrylic paints) onto a canvas – my heart shrinks. Is it an art?
paint components like pigments and binders could harm wildlife and ecosystem
Then I turn to myself and find myself the same one, just on the another level.
When I started my first attempts in acrylic painting my main phobia was to be thriftless. I tried to use for one piece ALL, absolutely all paint which I put on a painting board, and I put minimum. That came as a fact that I usually had a different result of the picture in regards of what it supposed to be. For example, I needed blue color for three lines to draw, but some blue paint was still on a painting board. So, I used it all here and there for the background, creating “clouds” or adding that blue to another details of the picture, and the final results was a kind of “I saved” instead of “I painted”.

the final results was a kind of “I saved” instead of “I painted”
Another issue, was that I noticed, even if I try to use absolutely ALL the amount of paint – something still left. Then I hurry next day to put the residues to another sheet of paper or canvas before acrylics dry. Is it not a phobia, I am asking? Some kind of exaggerated, self-grueling way to paint?
Lucky me, these days I do not afraid of arising any question which disturbs the inner harmony, any. The same has happened with my “planet-polluting phobia”. I started to l’earn what I can do about it: how to minimize the water pollution from acrylics. I found three ways: one from internet and two by myself – a combination of three would let me jump to another level of consciousness. Take it for your practice too, anyone is welcome!
Three ways to reduce water pollution from acrylics:
- Removing Water-Based Paint Solids from Rinse Water by goldenpaints.com (external link). In this article, the step-be-step procedure how to remove acrylics from rinse water is described, and the materials needed are listed too. You may need:
- paper filters
- large funnel (13.5″ / 35 cm diameter for the 5 gallon/20 liter setup and the 9″ / 22 cm for the 1 gallon / 4 liter
- polyethylene pail to keep the product
- aluminum sulfate and hydrated lime (common soil amendments available from gardening centers)
- pH paper
- measuring spoons (should be kept separate from kitchen utensils)
- safety equipment (goggles and dust masks)
- Using leftovers of the acrylic paints to try new methods and practice. These two painting were done just for the sake of practicing:


- Let the leftovers to dry on a painting board overnight and later remove it with a knife or spatula. Should be disposed of in a licensed landfill afterwards (when dry).

let the paints dry and collect with a spatula
References:
- KOBA, K., et al. Antibacterial Activities of the Buds Essential Oil of Syzygium Aromaticum (L.) Merr. & Perry from Togo. Journal of Biologically Active Products from Nature, 2011, vol. 1, no. 1. pp. 42-51.
- How Drinking Grapefruit Juice Could Increase Your Cervical Mucus by Lindsay Meisel, 2017, online source: https://www.avawomen.com/avaworld/grapefruit-juice-cervical-mucus/
- How to Increase Your Fertility by Janet Stephens, book’s online source: https://books.google.pl/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hXrgDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=grapefruit+juice+fertility+cervical+mucus&ots=h-9d6b_M9k&sig=TjAHHTFK7GS9lKCLxW-OKhDQnbA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=grapefruit%20juice%20fertility%20cervical%20mucus&f=false
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