Sargentlard:
Bad idea. No wonder they either went crazy or died at an early age. Even today a lot of oil paints are toxic, I can only imagine how it was a century ago.
All the more reason to consider it.
The most captivating artists have always been mad for some reason- Carrol and Thurber were psychedelic shamans without drugs.
Nietzsche, a hopeful insanity.
Jung describes Freud as going into panic every now and then in the middle of his dialogue.
Swift, another madman.
Godamnit, the list goes on- Dostoevsky, Sade. Insanity is thrilling to be around ( so long as there is a foot of steel between you and the lunatic)- and when creative, the madness is an
explosion.
Courtesy of Week's and James' take on eccentrics (which tend to be mad):
"Ranging from the obvious to the trivial, by careful analysis a profile of the eccentric emerged: creative, strongly motivated by curiosity, idealistic, happily obsessed, aware from early childhood that he was different, intelligent, opinionated and outspoken, not needy of reassurance or reinforcement, unusual in eating and living habits, not particularly interested in the company or opinion of others except in their wanting to persuade others (ha!), possessed of a mischievous sense of humor, single, usually eldest or an only child, and a bad speller."- Eccentrics, a Study of Sanity and Strangeness
In other words, want a more interesting artist? Put mercury in his oil paint.
Or put the Photoshop away.
Muhahhaha.
