Although I find it difficult to find art supplies that do not include some animal product or by-product I strive to use those that are produced without any animal suffering.  Thankfully there are many brands of synthetic brushes on the market and I’ve written about them at http://dianemarcotte.com/blog/animal-friendly-brushes/.  But brushes are a small part of our art.  We use various substrates, paints, inks, tools, etc.  Can we use quality items and still be sure that no animals are harmed in the process?

Companies are usually very good at answering our questions and I’ve found a recent online blog post that addresses this issue at https://doublecheckvegan.com/vegan-art-supplies/.  If this is a topic that interests you please read their blog and check out the products you currently use.

Bone Black, and some Ivory Blacks, aren’t vegan and are often the only colour in a company’s range (along with greys, etc that contain it) that is non-vegan.  Thankfully many companies have alternative blacks.

Unfortunately two very popular paper products have gelatin sizing – Canson Mi Teintes and Arches Watercolour Paper.

I use many Faber-Castell’s products and their answer as to whether their products are vegan is posted on their website and reads:

Other sites that address this issue are:

https://www.stepbystepart.co.uk/the-green-artist–vegan–environmental-friendly-product-information.html

https://www.derwentart.com/en/gb/4720/faqs

http://artonthefridge.com/animal-free-art-supplies/?i=1

If there is a cruelty-free alternative to any art product you use I encourage you to try it out.  The animals thank you.

Please check out my Fine Art America website at – https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-diane-marcotte.html?tab=artwork – to view my art.

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