Mark Golden on Paint

Now that spring has finally arrived here in Upstate NY, we are excited to have our second group of artists joining us next to the Golden Factory. It is so exciting to have this creative energy right next door.

I’ve just finished making a homemade version of a fume collector for our Residents working with solvents. It looks more like something out of a Dr. Seuss book but it at least the fan did work when I turned it on. I think I’m going to remake this as I am much better making things the second time around! When I do we’ll post it on Youtube so you can marvel at my lack of engineering prowess.

We do have a very large exhaust fan in the studios on the upper floor of the Residency, but when it’s on it sounds like a jet taking off. Just trying to figure out the best way to mitigate the issues around solvent and solvent use. We’ve been cleaning our oils without solvents and so far that has been working well. Clearly though the necessity for thinning the oils has often required use of solvents for some artists.

Would love your suggestions!