Acrylic paint dries in under an hour if not minutes. Pleased you found the article of interest. In this regard I feel I will be able to use your lessons to make good headway toward my artistic goals. Thanks for your response. Thanks to your information, I am going to use acrylics because they lack a strong odor, and because the majority of my painting will be various shades of white, I do not want yellowing to occur. Is it raw (meaning is the paint directly on the fabric of the canvas), or does it have a layer of white paint (known as gesso) as a base? Many, many thanks for your efforts. 1.Oil paints are slow drying paints whereas acrylic paints dry fast. The issue isn't that the stain is failing; the transparent nature of oil-based stain gets only more transparent over time, allowing UV rays to degrade the wood. The actual objects I would like to be is a large fallen tree up front and in the middle, way back behind the tree, a small accent of spruce trees, grass blades and a bit of a lake look. Oil vs. Acrylic Primed Canvas; What Stands the Best! Michael Harding does make some lovely paints! Have you or anyone you know used these type of paints? You know, I’m still consistently surprised by how quickly we can forget things that were once second nature, if we neglect them for some years. Fast, neat. The only slight issue with anything citrus based like Zest-it is that it doesn’t evaporate 100% from the paint film, so it is not as pure a solvent as rectified turpentine but the benefits interms of more pleasant working conditions if working in a confined space far out way it. I have long been experience in pencil/graphite portraits but I have longed to oil/acrylic paint portraits on canvas. Now I am seeking more serious instruction and your site and information is wonderful. Oils penetrate into the wood and protect from within, while acrylics lay on top and create a shell to protect the wood. Since decks are outside, they are exposed to rain, snow, and other unpleasant things that come with changing seasons, such as falling leaves in autumn and various insects in summer. Oil takes a few weeks to dry, and it will highly depend on the temperature and humidity of your studio. ps I’ve got the “grab a brew” part down pat! Thank you for your help! I have been a professional artist, in the 1980s, but using Pen & Ink. The bond between oil paint and acrylic is a mechanical one, not a chemical one (think "glued" or "stuck together" rather than "intertwined" or "mixed"). Unlike oil-based paint, acrylic finishes tend to retain their color and sheen for long periods. To overcome this, you have to “oil out’ the area of the painting you are working on. Compare this to acrylic paints which weren’t even … I love the blending that you can achieve with the oils, but the cleaning scares me, that’s why I take too much time starting a painting…. I had “Googled”: “How to use gesso and why?” and your website was listed, THANK GOD! I dont believe that i can varnish until at least six months? I have been into all types of art for years (keep in mind im only 23). Ive never used oil But im willing to give it a try. You’ve got a canvas ready, you’ve prepared your ground and now you’re ready to paint. it is not possible to see face on but from the side and it full light it is evident in places. If you’re painting more classical moody scenes having the painting in oils can add a ‘heritage’. that I am stymied. Working with acrylics to create a smooth blend is excellent training in developing your brush handling and paint handling techniques. Good one Sarah, good luck with your painting. My granddaughters have kicked me out of retirement and I have been selling my work on-line. The New Masters acrylics from Old Holland might be the perfect match for you as they have been designed to dry with a slight satin finish and have some great historical colours. Hi Val, its’ not recommended to paint acrylic on-top of oils as the acrylics won’t adhere to the surface of the oils and they will prevent the oils from curing properly due to stopping the air hitting the surface of the oil paint. I started painting in oil about 20 years ago mostly because that was the medium my grandfather used. As for the darkening issue, it is hard to avoid. Armed with your sections on paint selection, and your video on brushes, I’m about ready to get started. Became a huge YES fan, and therefore a huge Roger Dean fan, and so of course I experimented a lot with mixing oil and acrylics wet-in-wet; never via air-brush though – all hand brushing. Traditionally this was a cobalt drier, more recently, Liquin by Winsor & Newton is a synthetic medium that can accelerate the drying time of the oil paint by about 50% . Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the painting tutorials. Cheers, Will. Is their truth to that or am I being overly cautious? There are some key differences between acrylic and oil paints. Will. Thanks for the quick reply Will. Oils can still have an ‘Oil on canvas’ factor in comparison to acrylics but modern acrylics are a much different material than when they were first developed and the quality of the pigments used today are excellent in artist quality acrylics. In all the years I’ve been painting, I’ve always used acrylics. Just want to say how much I appreciate your videos and site! Hi Dave, ideally you would have a separate set of brushes for each as the residue of oil/turpentine can change the characteristics of the brush and the handling of the paint, and sometimes you might use a coarser brush to more easily move the oil paint around the canvas. I also have my work on FinaArtAmerica, been there for the last 5 years, and though my work gets lots of hits (overt 9,000 hits for some pieces) no one buys anything–except for selling 2 or 3 prints of my “mating lions.” So my question is: would you be able to offer suggestions or point me in a direction where selling my art regularly becomes possible? Is it a good idea to complete the face or potrait subject with oil and then use acrylic in background to have textured effect? I live in an apartment and will be painting mostly on the covered patio. ! I don’t know.. One question – can I do a background using thinned acrylics and let it dry overnight and then paint over it when it’s dry with quicker-drying ones? Hello Will, I am trying to choose between buying regular oil paint or the new oil paint that mixes with water. Pleased you’re enjoying working with oils Julie. Thank-you Kimberley from Canada, Cheers Kimberley, really pleased you’re enjoying the website and the tutorials. Hi Will. I did enjoy the demo Will, and big thank you to you! You might find this article of interest. Your help most appreciated> Thank You! Traditionally, oil-based (technically known as “Alkyd”) enamels have been the coating of choice for painting interior trim and doors. Should I learn watercolor then? Also, as it dries so quickly you can paint over your mistakes very easily so can be great for learning about colour theory and colour mixing. it’s a big help to me and I’ll work ‘fat over lean’ from now on. Thin glazes of acrylic on canvas will likely not fill the tooth of the canvas completely, giving the oil paint something to grip onto. I’ve never heard of natural oil paints. 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