Staying Cool in the Heat

Painted at a "Back to School Batch" for 3 hours outdoors Sunday in a heat index of 112F degrees.  None of my paints (mostly TAG) melted in the heat.  But my clock did.  The digital clock facing just melted and turned all black.  I was under a tent, had a battery operated fan,  kept eating salty chips and drinking fluids but it was still very hard. When I finished, I sat in my vehicle with the air on full blast for 30 minutes.  I've got another 3 hour event at the same park this week-end. I want the money but I'm kind of dreading that heat.

sheeeeeeesh, the only "keep cool" trick I have is keeping my wrist cold, but never in 112 degree weather.good luck!

you have a fan, maybe spritz a mist of ice water into the breeze every few minutes for instant relief.


is salty food another technique to lower body temp? never heard of that before.

The salt is to replace what you've sweat out Sweat is full of salt.

Drinking water replaces the fluids, but if you are sweating A LOT (high high temperatures, or for average healthy people 60 minutes plus of exercise) you also need to replace your salt as well.

That's why sports drinks have electrolytes in them.

walmart also has these bandana type things you wrap around your neck...you get them wet and they stay cold for a while..I use them here in Wisconsin when its humid out.

I use those bandana things.
I soak them in water for 10-15 minutes, and then wrap them around my neck. They have little beads that absorb water and feel cool as they dry.

I place my paints on top of freezer packs to keep them from turning into gloop.

Someone on this Forum had a DIY picture set to illustrate how to make a homemade air conditioner using a styrofoam cooler, electric fan, ice, and some kind of wide piping elbow to direct the air flow. Ingenious.

I have a big, 18 day event starting on August 16th. We are in a large, outdoor tent, and it does get hot. (I did not notice how hot it was because I LOVED what I was doing. I am setting alarms to remind us all to drink water and take breaks. I do forget stuff like water and breaks unless I remind myself. Hmmmm....I should figure out an apropos ring tone for the water drinking reminder alarm.

Happy, cool painting!

Lisa.... That is a wonderful idea about setting alarms to drink water! I'm notorious for forgetting to drink. Slowly getting better but not good yet. I'll have to try that :-D Love that idea of the special ring tone too. There is one that ernie from sesame Street sings about his rubber ducky lol.

Fesspenter, what about the Jaws theme? Or "Singing in the rain"?

Dear Rebons:
Bwahahaha!
Nobody would go near the water, though !
I am following rubyzcreationz and using a DUCK ringtone.

xoxo

Someone on this forum made a homemade "swamp box" with a Styrofoam box, fan, ice, and an elbow joint. I made one this past weekend using a battery operated fan, and with a hole on the side rather than using an elbow pipe on the top. my battery fan wasn't as forceful as an electric one, but with the ice filled to a level just below the hole cut in the side, and the box placed under my table near my feet, it DID WORK FOR A WHILE, until my ice melted (super hot day).

I recently bought two frog togs towels to use.

I had bought a similar towel while we were in Sedona last month, but gave it to my dad so he could use it while doing yard work.
Decided I really needed these for outdoor events, and went on a search to find them locally. They are sold at sporting goods stores, in the camping and golf departments.
You soak the towel in water, wring it out, and then it cools through evaporation. Simply amazing.
This towel made all the difference for me when we were hiking in Sedona, and I used it at a gig and it worked well there too. I would just drape it around my neck or press it to my wrists.

They are called cooling sports towels and are sold under different brand names.

I also keep the handkerchiefs you soak in water, but found they don't cool as much as the towels.
Oh, and small battery operated fans. Also found in sporting goods stores.

Make sure to take breaks to drink and take care of yourself.

Wow! Some great ideas here that I didn't even know about. I will be heading to the stores today in search of some of the suggestions listed here. Thanks everyone.

this may be a little late..those things around neck are great. but i use an ice pack too sometimes wrapped in fabric so i don't get frostbite. I don't think i could do 112 degrees.

Don't do what I did. I applied bug repellent to my face, then the sweat went into my eyes, stinging, burning.. next day I wake up to my eyes almost swollen shut! I used ice packs, benadryl, wet tea bags, what ever i could think of. luckily no gigs that morning and swelling had subsided by evening.