Home Forums Explore Media Acrylics Acrylics vs Oils

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  • #484032
    oldnmartist
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        I have painted in both oils and acrylics, and I have opinions about both. But I am interested in hearing from others that have done this. Which do you like, and for what types of painting? Please comment.

        Everything else being equal, I would rather be in the painting zone.

        Website: www.mikesartshack.com

        #947664
        Bartc
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            I have always preferred acrylics. Versatile and you can handle them immediately. I paint mostly plein air. So quick drying between glazes/layers is a plus, not a minus out there.

            As to drying issues, there are several ways to handle this successfully. As to blending, same deal.

            So when folks get uppity about oils vs. acrylics, I just shrug my shoulders and paint away.

            I have used oils, so it’s not a matter of being unfamiliar with them. Just a personal preference here, folks. Nothing more.

            #947663
            DMSS
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                I prefer acrylics for practical reasons: I don’t have to worry about storage and disposal of combustible rags, I don’t have to worry about fat over lean, and I don’t have to deal with solvents or the limitations of painting solvent-free with oils. I like the versatility of acrylics, the ease with which I can paint thinly or thickly, impasto or glazes, in any order in the same painting, and on a variety of surfaces, including watercolor paper. And cleanup with acrylics is easier than with oils. Oils are easier to blend, but I have figured out how to blend with acrylics, although it has taken me years to figure it out. Also, the quick drying time of acrylics fits my impatient temperament. I also like that acrylics won’t yellow over time.

                --David

                #947666
                Sheryl
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                    I would say exactly the same thing as David, with the addition of the smell. I don’t like the smell of oil and solvents. I do use oil for outdoor signs and metal painting, but it stinks, and if I could use acrylics with the same life and price, outside and on metal, I would.

                    sherylgallant.ca
                    - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24:14

                    #947665
                    francjs
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                        I mostly use acrylics, but also tried oils and water mixable oils. One some level, I can put forward practical reasons for my preference for acrylics, like that I paint in a corner in my living room, and want to avoid exposure to toxic fumes for me and my family. Though I really like the smell of turpentine and of oil paints…

                        But the real reason for my preference for acrylics is that I like the consistency better and that, generally, I prefer to paint wet into dry – and limit how much blending I do. In fact, I blended very little is some of the works that I most enjoyed painting, and where I preferred the results.

                        The brands I use the most for now are Winsor & Newton or Liquitex heavy body acrylics, and I just love how I can move them around the canvas, and then can add another layer – I just love the way they feel under the brush.

                        Oils, I find, are stiffer, and even with mediums added, they just don’t seem to feel right to me.

                        I see online good work done in both mediums, and don’t buy the nostalgic allure of the old masters using oils – that makes no sense to me.

                        Tried water mixable oils, and they are OK but I find them sticky.

                        Though, when I paint with oils I can get some nice smoky effects, due to the soft edges, so will probably use them again depending on the subject I’m painting, but acrylics seem to work very well for most things I tried up to now, and I’m sure that more can be gained with experience.

                        #947662

                        I like best that I do not have make an either/or choice.

                        With acrylics I can paint over a scene endless times to get it how I want.

                        On certain types of scenes I find it easier to finish a painting in oils.

                        Switch among acrylics, oils, caseins and gouache keeps me engaged and interested, and a little crazy.

                        Gary

                        "Painting is a verb"

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