Swink!

I’ve been trying to improve my eco-credentials. Having read a variety of horror stories about the non-environmentally-friendly nature of acrylic paints, I stumbled across a different kind of water-based acrylic called SWINK. It is made by a company called CaplinTec, and seaweed is used as a binder, so it contains no plastic.

This sounded a bit dubious, but also sounded as though it could be what I was looking for: Ingredients were wool industry waste from the UK and sustainably grown seaweed from Scotland. It also claimed to be environment, child and pet friendly and without any nasty stuff in….And it wasn’t exorbitantly expensive, so I took the plunge and bought a set of colours.

And this was what arrived.

Rather attractive colours, in nice little bottles. Now, I’m not used to paint that doesn’t come in a tube, so that was challenge number one! But I thought I’d give it a go anyway.

First impression: Good range of colours. Annoying cardboard bit in the lid of the pot which gets in the way/sticks to the pot on opening, but that was a minor issue. Biggest issue to begin with was the brown/yellow paint, which, on opening, had a yucky congealed mouldy bit on the top, and definitely smelled unpleasant. However, that was the only one, and once removed the rest of the paint was fine, and the seaweed/mould smell dissipated. I’ll put that one down to bad luck!

There was no similar problem with any of the other pots.

On to the actual painting…. This paint turned out to be smooth and really pleasant to work with. It doesn’t smell, It covers nicely, mixes well and is generally as good to use as a light acrylic. It was best straight from the pot. (always trying not to put my brush back in the wrong pot!) I really enjoyed painting with it. As you can see below, my experimental piece was a small seascape, and the paint allowed for good coverage, and behaved like a well-mannered acrylic paint should!

The painting isn’t quite finished, but I think gives a good example of what can be done with Swink paint!

So….in conclusion:

Would I use it again? - Definitely!

Would I use it exclusively? - Probably not, but will certainly use it where possible, along with other types of paint.

CaplinTec, who are based in North Wales, make this, and other eco-friendly products. Worth looking them up on Instagram/Facebook for more information about Swink paint, or on their own website.

(Just to clarify I have no links to this company, this is an unbiased opinion, based purely on trying out Swink paint)

Note to self: - Don’t forget to shake the pot before painting……