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As someone who is suffering from erythena nomosis (question spelling?) since April, I have been limited to using only my colored pencils, watercolors and gouache for my paintings. Why? Because the dermatologist has banned me from oil painting. EN is an inflammation of the bottom layer of the epidermis. I have it in my lower left leg. It can be caused by a variety of things, but with me it was the toxins in oil paints and accessories. I stopped using them and voila, the large lumps in my leg started shrinking. It will take up to eight months for them to completely go away. Such a condition is not life threatening, but it is painful like a bad bruise. Why am I writing all of this? Because the dermatologist made the point to me that the "old masters" may have had such a condition and did not know what it was. I am not saying everyone will get this condition, but I did and I sure do wish I hadn't.
My husband is a chemical engineer and has worked contract for almost every plant in this country and beyond. The levels of fumes that are in the air while using oil painting materials would cause immediate shut down in the majority of those plants (so would the fumes from pumping gas in your car by the way). You may use these things and nothing may ever happen to you, but such was not the case with me.
Enter Genesis paints. I can't wait to try them. I love my colored pencils and will continue to use them. Even with some of the prejudice (not on this Forum) against this medium being a legitimate art. The flexibility of these paints sounds like what I have been waiting on. With colored pencils, if one of my children (5 and 3) gets sick, or my husband has a last minute sales trip, etc., I can set them down and pick them up two days later. Is such the case with Genesis? I hope so. I sure do want to oil paint again.
They may find tomorrow that Genesis paints have some deadly side effect, but until then I am watching daily for the UPS truck. I know what the other did to me.
Just my story,
Rebecca
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