The binder in oil paint – oil, goes yellow over time, this causes the subtle glow on old master paintings with acrylics they are colourfast, the binder – acrylic polymer doesn’t yellow over time. With projected laboratory tests acrylics won’t fade in time, the colours will look the same now as they will in 200 years. Solution: Experience teaches you to work cleanly. It is very easy to mix ‘muddy colours’ when starting with oils due to everything staying wet and the colours mixing together on the canvas. Oil Cons: Trying to create a crisp edge without it affecting the underlying colours with oils means you have to wait until the next day, or touch dry otherwise your brushstroke will pull and mix with the paint underneath it. You can also add slower drying oils to your paints to create surfaces that can stay wet for weeks. This is especially true for portrait painting when the subtle shading of the face can need constant revisiting and tweaking. Working wet-into-wet is the sure-fire way to get a smooth transition in your painting. Because of the slow drying nature of oil paints they can be fantastic for creating subtle blends. Oil paints are king of the ring when blending colours together. This is because the matting agent used in the matt glazing liquid is white when wet, it dries pretty clear but I have found it can sometimes leave the blacks looking milky) Pro tip: I use the glazing liquid gloss even if I don’t need a gloss finish. Either use soft gel gloss, retarder (slows down drying time) or my preferred choice, glazing liquid gloss. You can add a medium to the paint to help keep the working time open for longer. You can achieve smooth blends with acrylics you have to work quickly. If you are working smaller than this you can create some lovely blends. Especially if you are working on a large-scale it can be practically impossible to work the canvas as a whole to bring it all to the same finish together. You can mix clean, bright colours very easily.īlending with acrylics can be frustrating due to the speed of the drying time. You can mask out areas, work over them quickly, and easily cover a hard shape with thicker paint. The crisp edges that can be achieved with acrylics can be hugely beneficial if you paint with a more graphic composition. (see: preparing a surface for painting) 2. You could, of course, buy a pre-primed canvas and get going straight away. If you are going to prepare the surface of the canvas yourself the preparation time is longer. The paint on the palette will still be wet and pliable the colours on your canvas can still be blended together.ĭue to the oil in oil paints (usually linseed oil) its best to on work on a prepared canvas or board. See my video on How to set up a stay wet palette.īecause oil paints stay wet for a lot longer than acrylics, it gives you the flexibility to start a painting and then come back to it the next day and continue straight where you left off. Use a stay wet palette to keep the paints moist.Add a retarder to keep the acrylics wet for longer (no more than 15% or the paint goes funny).You put down your brushes, come back 10 minutes later and everything has dried! Not quite the tranquil painting experience you had imagined. So you scrape it off, squeeze out some more, ready to go and… In this short amount of time, the first blob of paint you’d squeezed out will now be dry, solid, unable to shift. You carefully squeeze out your paintings, being careful not to use too much, and then what happens? You’ve got a canvas ready, you’ve prepared your ground and now you’re ready to paint.Īll is quiet and at peace with the world. You want to do some painting, so you book in a little me time. Paper, card, canvas board, whatever you have to hand.Īcrylic Cons: They dry quickly, I mean really quickly. To be able to set up quickly, start painting on anything is brilliant. This is one of the key things that make acrylics a great medium to start with when beginning to learn to paint. To understand the pros and cons of oils vs acrylics you need to ask yourself a few simple questions to decide which medium is best for you… Please note: The comparison below is for standard acrylics and oil paints, not taking into account quick-drying oils ‘Alkyds Oils’ or ‘ Open Acrylics‘ (slow drying acrylics) or ‘ Water-mixable Oils‘ (traditional oils than can be cleaned up with water) 1. Get excited about all the paintings you are going to create but don’t know which types of paints to begin with? What is the difference between Oils vs Acrylic Paints?ĭo you want to learn to paint but don’t know where to start?
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