Health risks take the gloss off enamel artworks

Changing tack ... Hazel Dooney at work. Photo: Hazel Dooney

Hazel Dooney has long savoured the creamy texture of high-gloss enamel paint and the ''perfect veneer'' that emerges after she sands it back. Collectors also like the glossy, Manga-style characters she paints on large boards.
But it's a toxic love affair and after almost 15 years of a range of nasty side-effects, Dooney is ditching the medium. Other than already commissioned works, she will no longer produce enamel paintings.
Dooney is not the first artist to abandon enamel paint after suffering rashes, blisters and nosebleeds. But gallery owners say it could make enamel works more sought-after.
The death of Dooney's father, Thomas Dooney, in January, from cancer, was the catalyst for the change, making her think about the health risks of long exposure to the paint and its fumes. Wearing gloves and a face mask helped but did not eradicate all symptoms, she says.
''I would get a red, blotchy rash on my chest and neck, my skin would break out in itchy sores, [the paint fumes] dried out the inside of my nose'', causing nosebleeds.
Exposure to paints and solvents, especially when ventilation is poor, can cause nausea and irritate skin, according to WorkCover NSW. Longer-term effects include asthma and lung cancer.
Safety sheets provided by paint suppliers advise people to wear eye protection and gloves when using high-gloss enamel paint. Some brands warn that prolonged skin contact may lead to dermatitis. Inhaling paint fumes may irritate airways and cause headaches and dizziness, among other things.
One artist, Jeremy Kibel, recognised for the use of enamel in his landscapes and backgrounds, has also suffered serious side effects from the paint and uses it only in small amounts.
''I used to use it because it was cheap,'' Kibel says. ''The stuff is horrid. I was getting smoker's cough from the fumes. When you use it all the time you get blistering in your nose.''
Kibel's GP advised him to stop using the paint but the artist says it has not affected him professionally.
''People did love those enamel paintings but most people are under-standing about why I flicked it.''
Big enamel works by the likes of Dooney and Kibel will remain popular, according to the owner of Melbourne's MARS Gallery, Andy Dinan. Dinan says Dooney's decision to quit the medium won't hurt her reputation.
''Hazel has worked across several mediums - photography, pen and ink drawings, watercolours - but the big collectors have always wanted the enamels,'' she says.
''[Her work] is so glossy it just pops off the wall.''
Wendy Frew @'SMH'