Coroner's solvents alert after artist's fall death

Award-winning Govinder Nazran, 44, had used the product – Brasslac – in a confined upstairs room with the wrong protective equipment, an inquest heard.

His widow, Sarah, blamed the product for her husband suffering epileptic-type fits and a coroner ruled the product contributed to the fall that killed him.

Mr Nazran died from head injuries suffered when he collapsed at his home on Christmas Eve 2008.

The father-of-one was seen staggering and twitching before the fall, in which he suffered unsurvivable brain injuries.

An inquest in Bradford on Tuesday heard how Mr Nazran, who lived with his wife and daughter in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, had begun suffering fits and turned to drink after a personality change, which his widow blamed on the varnish.

She described how her "charming man" had changed, and had become

paranoid and forgetful as though he had dementia.

Mr Nazran complained of headaches, and would feel cold and nauseous

after using the varnish.

He used it in a confined upstairs room, wearing a dust mask not

suitable for that type of product, the inquest heard.

A pattern then began to emerge of him having seizures.

His widow said the artist was initially in denial but then got medication, although he took it sporadically because he said it dulled his senses and reduced his creativity.

She said she threw away all the Brasslac in his studio and he did not get any more, but his health got worse and his drinking increased.

Mr Nazran died on December 30, 2008, in intensive care at Bradford Royal Infirmary, six days after falling.

Coroner Roger Whittaker accepted the head injuries as the cause of death but said: "The underlying cause was twofold – the chronic damage from the volatile solvent and the acute effect of the alcohol intake contributed to that final fit and fall."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Whittaker stressed that Mr Nazran had used the Brasslac in the wrong way.

"People using this product and similar products must be extremely careful," he warned. "They must read the instructions and take precautions."

Mr Nazran's widow said after the hearing that her late husband's

passion for art had ultimately killed him.

And the pilates instructor, who had been with Mr Nazran for 22 years, made a plea to other artists to take better precautions and research the products they use.

Mrs Nazran, who still lives in Saltaire with the couple's 17-year-old daughter, Eden, said: "Govinder suffered from numbness in his fingers and arthritis in his hands and I think that was because solvents from bars of oil paint he used were absorbed by his skin.

"But until something like this happens you just don't really think about it. Losing Govinder has been devastating for me and Eden.

"It's very sad. I just want people to take heed from what happened to Govinder and take precautions. Take a warning from what has happened and never assume anything is safe. Make sure you read the warnings on these products."

She said that her late husband began using Brasslac – a heavy duty,

fast drying varnish which seals oil paintings and helps them dry faster – seven years ago.

"Someone suggested he used Brasslac and he began using it in his old studio which was very big and well-ventilated," she said.

But a year later the couple moved and the artist used the top floor of their home as a studio where he would varnish up to eight canvases at a time.

Mrs Nazran, 46, said: "One consolation is the fact I have not totally lost him because I am surrounded by his work and receive emails and letters from collectors who liked Govinder's art.

"He touched so many people's lives. He was the most amazing man I have ever met. Unfortunately the products he chose to use for his art had an effect on his health which ultimately caused his death. Art was his life, it was all he ever wanted to do."