Recently I was researching dyes and their use in the food industry. It turns out that oranges are often sprayed with a dye called citrus red #2 which is considered to be a carcinogen possibly harmful to humans (and other animals). The only reason is to make the fruit more appealing at the store. The assumption is that people will not actually eat the orange peels, and that juice has to made from un-dyed oranges. Chemically, it comes from a petrol-chemical called naphthalene and it has two fused benzene rings. Art pigments used to made from these types of dyes but they are mostly unstable and considered to be toxic. Its banned in California, but Canada still allows it on the peels of oranges. I wonder what happens when it goes into our composter? In the painting, I used benzimidazolone orange, called deep orange, from Da Vinci company, which is considered to be non-toxic. So you could eat one of my paintings and be better off than eating an orange peel, although I would recommend a slice of carrot cake instead.
Sprayed on Colour (Orange), watercolour 9 x 12" watercolour paper, March 2023 (No. 3376a)
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