What’s the difference between Acrylic VS Oil paint?
Starting my painting journey as a watercolor artist, then switching to acrylic paints, was a game changer for me; always wanting to learn, I thought, let’s try a new medium and see what the difference is between acrylic and oil paints. And more importantly, is it worth switching teams?
As a new oil painter, I used the materials listed below in this comparison test. First, I picked this lemon still-life photo and used Photoshop to remove the background giving a clean composition compared to the original image. Then, using the filter layers in Photoshop, I made a black-and-white value study with 4 to 5 values to clearly see the light, dark, and mid tones. This breaks down my painting process into easy-to-follow steps, including a grid photo to help with proportions when drawing the canvas.
Here are the materials I used for the oil & acrylic painting.
OIL PAINT SUPPLIES:
Turpenoid Natural
Liquitex Neutral Gray Gesso
Winsor Newton Safflower Oil
Art Alternative Gray Paper Palette 12x16
Winsor Newton Oil Paints *See Pic for exact colors
Silver Ruby Satin Brushes
ACRYLIC PAINT SUPPLIES:
Liquitex Hardbody Acryric *same colors as oil
Season in South Florida is starting to slow down; this is the perfect downtime to start playing. Comparing apples to apples, in this case, lemons to lemons, I did the same subject in both acrylics (which I am familiar with) and oils (which are new to me) to see the difference between the two mediums with my own work. Here is my setup:
As I started painting with oil, I immediately notice a major difference in both mediums. Being a fast painter, the main thing that irritated me was how long oil takes to dry! With that being said, what I loved about painting with oils is how easily I could blend seamless transitions. Both had their PROS and CONS.
Having finished the experiment, I found several differences I would love to share. So, here is my simple explanation.
ACRYLIC PROS:
Cleans with water
Drys fast
Good for beginners
No need to varnish the finished painting
ACRYLIC CONS:
Hard to blend smooth
It dries too fast on the palate
OIL PROS:
Buttery rich texture
Smooth transitions
Blends softly
Pre-mix colors without dying
OIL CONS:
Hard to clean-up
The painting process takes longer to dry
You have to varnish the finished painting to enhance the true beauty of the colors
Two different looks for two different mediums. My outcome is I love them both!
This is what I learned from my little experiment. I will take the PROS from each medium and use them both! First, I will start my undercoating black-and-white value sketch in acrylic because it dries fast. Then I can paint with the oil, blending, smoothing, and enjoying the painting process.
I would love to hear what your favorite painting medium is.