Oils or Acrylics

[[ uberdiablo ]]

OK I know Oils is more tedious than Acrylic, but I am looking in to doing some paintings. Now what I would like to know from you guys which you prefer and why. I know with Oils you have to work in stages as the oils need to dry first etc... Which might not work for my impatient virtue, come to think of it.

But other than that I have no idea. I have worked with acrylics before so I do have an understanding as to how to go about using them but are acrylics colours as vibrant as oils?

[Confuzzled]

Acrylics are extremely versatile. They're cheaper. They're faster.

Oils are great for textures and blending. If you like getting high, the smell of turps is wonderful.

So far this year, I've only used acrylics and you can get an awesome lot done with them. If you want the textury blending abilities of oils, a) paint thicker or b) overlay with thin layers of watered down colour. I've only done some basic stuff with oils, but I know its way more technique intensive. Colour washes and the like. <= made with strange concoctions of linseed oil and other stuff. Also, you can paint your base up in Acrylics for speed and then finish it up with oils for the blending and textures.

Acrylics can be just as vibrant. And I think you'd probably prefer working with them. At least for a start. Also, when it comes to oils you can easily wait up to a week for a layer to dry, though I have heard of the "speed up by hairdryer" process. Haven't tried it. Acrylics dry almost as soon as you put the paint down.

But for the vibrancy of Acrylics:

[[ uberdiablo ]]

Thanks CC
I remember how well they worked when I used them back in college. Was doing some online research and the same factors come in to it. Mostly it's the fact that oils take forever to dry but that helps with blending and smoothing colours apparently. The cleaning was also mentioned with the terps for oils but plain water for acrylic. I think I'm going to give the acrylics a bash first for now, but it would still be interesting to try both mediums eventually I think.

[Confuzzled]

Acrylics are deff easier to work with, but oils are fun. I'd like to try an oils painting again, but because of all those wonderful factors, I know I have to plan it properly. I'm a sucky planner.

[[ uberdiablo ]]

What I found funny with the online research is that they're quite quick to mention how bad the fumes are for you with the oils. I swear the one guy associated painting with oils to smoking... Cancer was mentioned.

[Confuzzled]

Everything gives you cancer these days... and I kind of like the smell. But yeah, as long as you're in a well ventilated room I don't see what the problem is.

[Jezebel]

Turps is niiice I painted almost exclusively with oils from grade 10 to matric, although before that I was an acrylics fanatic. Oils are definitely nicer for detail etc. Although looking at it now...

Acrylic:



Oils:



...it doesn't seem to make much of a difference with me

[Ndz]

I only used Acrylics for my paintings, but felt they were so transparent and sometimes doesn't give enough texture...but then I used a thickening medium...don't know what the name was of what I used exactly but I mixed it with the Acrylics and got them to dry slower and give more texture. You can also first paint texture with a thick paste like Statex, and then paint with Acrylics over that.