Spent good money on any waste products lately?
Here’s a jar of sludge that you can feel good about. Tri-Art Acrylic Manufacturer in Canada recently began selling a product called Gesso Sludge.
The product is made from the waste materials created during the production of their artists acrylic paint. This Gesso Sludge is made with 100% waste products! How eco friendly is THAT ?
It comes in a nuetral gray color, although the exact color varies due to which particular waste pigments they had on hand the day they mix up a big batch of sludge. I imagine the color tends to be a lot like the color in the middle of my palette after painting for a few hours, pretty much various shades of gray.
This product reminds me of making mud pies as a child. I can’t wait to get me some! A liter sells for around $12 – $14 bucks. Lot’s of different online retailers sell it - just Google Tri-Art Gesso Sludge.
Just wish they sold tri art products in the UK
Hi Sharon,
Sorry that Tri-Art doesn’t sell in the UK. It seems like they would since they are based in Canada.
I noticed in researching this sludge, that most eco-friendly paint is made mostly for home interior / exterior use.
I am going to research a little more and see what I can find. Will write an article if I find anything worth mentioning in the way of eco friendly artist acrylic paint.
Hi,
It’s too expensive taking into account that it’s “waste”.
Wish you all a Prosperous 2010,
José
On the Tri-art website they state that Sludge is the most expensive and time-consuming product they manufacture. So while it is waste, it takes time and resources to produce to standard. I would rather spend the money on something that is re-used and refined than on a brand new product that causes waste that is washed down the drains…
Hi Kristen,
Thanks for the input, I did not know about that. After looking into it a bit further, it seems ALL paint manufacturers have this sludge IF they recyle their waste water.
If they simply dump their waste water, the sludge is never seperated out and simply goes directly back into the enviroment via sewage lines.
I wonder what some of the other companies, (specifically Golden since I know they recyle their water as well) do with their sludge.
I will look into this more and try to provide a follow-up article.
If a product is advertised as “green” and “eco” I expect it to be TRuLY green and eco!!
– Cindy, Editor
Acrylic Paint Review
re-posted from facebook:
“Tried this stuff and it is interesting, different texture than regular gesso, fun to work with. It is more smoother and great to mix color into.” – Mary Beth
last name omitted to protect privacy
I *love* the idea of this. I would be interested in any follow up info / articles as you mentioned.
i purchased a sample of this and really liked it EXCEPT that no matter how much I stirred it, I kept getting little black striations in it. I tried with several coats and different brushes and ended up having to go over it with another gesso. I liked the color and the matteness of it. Note that it may contain cadmiums as this could be an issue if you want to sand it.
I am an Artist, and use the Sludge products often. I love that they are recycled. I often use it to create texture in paintings..and love to apply it with a putty knife, or spatula..also use many other things to create different textures. I have the new Eco-Gesso..much lighter and not thick at all..figuring out how to best use it. tips? happy creating!