In 2009, professional artist, mom, and environmentalist Leah Fanning had a large, one-woman gallery exhibition planned and needed to paint full-time for a year to prepare for it. She also found out she was pregnant with her first child around the same time. So, to protect her baby’s health, she ditched every toxic art supply in her studio, including paints, thinners, and primers.
But what was the alternative to conventional paints? Leah drew inspiration from the cave painters through the Renaissance masters and took to nature to find her supplies. “I actually went into the woods and harvested all the pigments myself,” she recalls, smiling. “I would never leave home without a trowel and a bag. If I saw beautiful colors in the strata on the roadside, I would jump out of my car and gather the pigments.” She discovered that using natural pigments and oil created paintings that are even more radiant and archival than conventional paints. And without added fillers, heavy metals, additives and petrochemicals, natural paints have a brilliant luminosity that can’t be found anywhere else.
After discovering that even mainstream children’s paints (that are labelled as non-toxic) contain harmful toxins including formaldehyde and heavy metals, she had an epiphany.
“It just hit me that I needed to spread the word! No one was talking about the fact that you could create higher quality works of art with absolutely no toxins.”
A year later, Natural Earth Paint was born.
Natural Earth Paint is proud to be a growing green business, expanding from offering our children’s paint kit and oil paint kit to a whole range of natural fine arts supplies, face paints, and children’s art supplies. We travel the globe sourcing the same earth and mineral pigments used by ancient, medieval, and Renaissance painters. True to our eco-friendly roots, Natural Earth Paint continues to be committed to eco-friendly products and practices, reflected by our prestigious Gold certification from Green America, the highest rank for a green business. We use locally-made, 100% post-consumer recycled packaging, home compostable paint pouches, recyclable glass, and aluminum bottles. We operate out of a 100% solar-powered facility that also serves as a community bubble wrap drop-off site. Plus, we give back to organizations and causes that protect Mother Earth. Learn more about our green efforts on our Sustainability page. Read our Core Values which are the guiding principals of our business.
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