My oil paintings have a natural aroma which is very strong when they are curing. They are composed of turpentine, beeswax, damar resin, linseed oil, lavender oil, safflower oil, and pigments. The pigments are mineral and without scent, but the carrier mediums are all organic and each naturally have a uniquely complex scent.
The linseed oil becomes rancid as it cures developing a light, pleasant, warm, oily, rotten smell. Damar resin is piney, delicate and floral with a smokey tone similar to mastic and frankincense. The turpentine used to dissolve the damar and the wax is terebinth pine essence, its floral astringent woodsy smell is hot and ephemeral. Beeswax has warm sweet floral honey bready animal notes.
Most of these are benign. Except for the turpentine, which in concentration and chronic exposure can lead to very bad health outcomes; memory loss; skin and kidney damage. Ive had to greatly improve the air handling at my studio to mitigate this.
When I am painting these aromas saturate my studio. It envelops me and I become it wherever I go. The scent of the studio built over time. As the amount of curing paintings increased in storage the smell of the linseed oils became more prominent against the hotness of the turpentine while I am applying paint. To capture this scent I developed a cosmetic fragrance which I titled Painting.
After months of research and development; I used the essence of pine, beeswax, choya ral, ambroxan, rose oil, and oak moss; to recreate the nostalgic fragrance of a master painter’s studio.
This cosmetic fragrance is perfect to wear to a gallery opening or other public event where you would want to be “clean” but also smell like you have been putting in a hard day's work at the studio making your latest masterpiece.
