Painting with pets

It's not just the Buxton family that's in love with their animals...

It's the entire NaMoPaiMo community.

This is all well and good.

photo by Kathleen Fiford

All well and really, really good.

photo by Tomi P Hobby

However, it does complicate things when it comes to painting model horses.

meme by Kim Brandner

A discussion on the NaMoPaiMo Facebook page revealed three main strategies for coping with pet hair.

photo by Elaine Boardway

The simplest - and most effective - method is prevention. Sarah Pavolko writes: Natasha is simply Banned™️ from the art studio, which is hard because look at that face????

photo by Sarah Pavolko

Beth Kingdon agress: I have Samoyeds so hair is a part of life, but you can minimize a lot by keeping your pets clean. A high velocity dryer used outdoors weekly on the dog will take care of most of the hair and dander. I also paint in a room where the critters aren't allowed.

photo by Beth Kingdon

Unfortunately, nothing is that easy. Even when pets are banned, the pet hair can come in on people. Jennifer Lambert explains: The dogs aren't allowed in the room I'm currently using as a studio, but there is still random rabbit hair in there and whatever dog hair comes in on my clothes, which is a lot. Black dog hair doesn't show in a black horse, right? It enhances the hair texture...yeah, that will work. Adds realism and stuff. Sure.

photo by Jennifer Lambert

Stephanie Blaylock says: I lint roll myself as soon as I step in my studio. I also have a robo vac set on a timer that runs every afternoon just in the studio. It’s a constant battle. I keep very fine sandpaper and wooden toothpicks on my art table. I sadly don’t allow the babies into my studio. Not so much because of hair but because they are little terrorist plotting a takeover.

photo by Stephanie Blaylock

Amy DeGraff Swiney offers another tip for removing hair from clothing. She writes: Moon insists that she doesn't shed (false) and she's the perfect baby (that part is true). If I'm going to paint and we've been snuggling, I will change my shirt. I also swear by the Bounce pet hair sheets. They really do work to remove hair in the dryer and make it easier to remove in between washings.

Hannah Darlington-Mason concurs: My five animals - four cats and one large dog - all shed like crazy. My paint room is a spare bedroom with the door closed, but the fur still gets in, probably on me. I blow my model off a lot, brush it with a soft powder make up brush in between dry layers and hope for the best.

photo by Kammie Fenwick

The second - and probably most common - method of dealing with hair is mitigation. Kristie Strange says: I vacuum. A lot.

photo by Kristie Strange

Timing is everything, even when cleaning. Corina Roberts explains: My pet hair solution is clean then wait. Cleaning releases clouds of airborne fine dust and fibers, which need to settle before you get to work. 

photo by Corina Roberts

Grace Bisnath seconds the timing issue. She writes: This is my boy, Mocha! Thankfully he does not shed quite like a cat or dog would, but I still take precautions by ensuring my hands and clothes are clean, not stirring anything up or vacuuming right before painting. 

photo by Grace Bisnath

It's not just floors that need attention. Hair likes to settle on desks, too. Ada Kathleen writes: I sweep a lot, and wipe down surfaces before painting anything. 

photo by Ada Kathleen

Speaking of surfaces, Shauna McDaniel has a nifty trick for taming the hair on her work desk. She writes: Leo doesn't shed, but the other four jerks sure do.

photo by Shauna McDaniel

My main strategy is to use super cheap, Dollar Store shelf liners on the painting desk. It's just tacky enough to grab and hold loose hair and pigments. It also provides some cushion when stuff gets knocked over. Not exciting f but works surprisingly well.

Audrey Roar has another tactic. She explains: I only work in my spray booth. I live in an apartment with a fluffy corgi so at least the dust, debris, and hair is sorta being pulled away. Otherwise it's just generally inevitable.

photo by Audrey Roar

Storage matters. Kim Brandner writes: My cats are my studio supervisors. I clean my workspace more from dust than from cat hairs, and I keep my horses in a cabinet when I’m not working on them.

photo by Kim Brandner

It's not just the models that need to protected from hair. Paintbrushes also benefit from closed storage solutions. Heres Anne Giles' solution: I have four studio helpers, three black labs and a cockerpoo who thinks she’s a lab. I keep plastic sandwich bags over my brushes and put my horses in a glass cabinet to dry between layers to keep down the dust and hair. If I find any between layers I try to remove it with super fine sandpaper if a fingernail won’t pick it out easily without damage.

photo by Anne Giles

Kathleen Fiford uses a similar tactic: My painting buddies very helpful at wasting my painting time! Keeping my brushes hair free is the biggest issue, so I put a large jar over the top of them, and of course, the model goes into my painting shelf in a closed cabinet to dry.

photo by Heather Davis

The third and final strategy for keeping pet hair out of your paint is just to accept the inevitable and deal with it after the fact. Gretchen Glover writes: Murphy hair is everywhere, the cat hair too, but the really fine rabbit fur is nearly invisible. I vacuum as needed, and since I mostly use oils, I just let the hairs that get in each layer be until they are dry and buff them out with a soft toothbrush. As long as the layers are thin enough this method has worked really well for me to keep the finish smooth.

photo by Gretchen Glover

Gail Kozun Bruckner agrees: I can't keep my babies out of the room, so I just deal with it. They are both sixteen years old now. This pic was just a few days ago.

photo by Gail Kozun Brucker

Teddy Bates feels much the same way. They write: I just can’t get mad at him. Strategy for avoiding pet hair is almost non existent - just that I make sure my models dry in the kitchen where the cats can’t go!

photo by Teddy Bates

Mel Boynes says: My house is small, and my cats are indoor only. I don't have a painting room, just a desk in the communal area. Cat fur everywhere is inevitable, so I just check constantly and remove any I find.

photo by Mel Boynes

It's much the same for Tina DeCaussin. She explains: Cat hair is pretty inevitable. My painting space is in the living room on a collapsible table, so no way to avoid it. Vacuum, wipe the space down and have very fine sandpaper to get a hair out after dry.

photo by Katrina James

When there's no way to mitigate the hair, vigilance is important. Melissa Lauritzen says: I just look over my models before I do another coat. There's cat hair everywhere in my house.

photo by Melissa Lauritzen

Finally, you may to accept the fact that sometimes - no matter how hard you try - hair is inevitable. Shirl Allen writes: All my art is signed by at least one cat!

photo by Shirl Allen

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this discussion. I love seeing all your beautiful pets!