Thursday, February 11, 2010

I bought some canvas yesterday. Is acrylic paint the same as oil?

I haven麓t bought the paint because I don麓t know what to use on canvas.I bought some canvas yesterday. Is acrylic paint the same as oil?
You may use both oil paint and acrylic paint on canvas, but they are VERY different mediums. Acrylic dries very quickly and tends to look flat. Oil has a very different look. It takes much longer to dry and can be manipulated more---blended on the canvas, work with glazes etc. Since you are just beginning, I recommend you look at examples of both oil and acrylic painting, and choose your medium based on the look you are going for. Even though both mediums can be manipulated to do different things, they tend to lend themselves to a certain look unless you know how to manipulate them. And don't forget to prime your canvas!I bought some canvas yesterday. Is acrylic paint the same as oil?
no, there very differnt, acrylic is cleaned up with water and is less vibrant while oilis cleaned with turpentine and is much more vibrant. but the canvases u bought are most likely acrylic primed which is good for both. they also now market artisan oils, which are water mixable. meaning no turpentine is needed. check out this link for some pro's and cons of both. http://painting.about.com/cs/paintingkno鈥?/a>





now if you want my opinion i only like oils. i use some acrylics for differnt things but only oils CAN CAPTURE THE TRUE ESSENCE of what a scene is, whether it is a landscape, portrait etc. the lucious, thick feel of rubbing oil paint underneath your brush is irrsestable. look in all textbooks u wish to. all the famous artists in history used oils, not one used acrylics. not even jackson pollock used acrylics, just thined oil paint. that is my opinion.


u know something else? why should people put the idea that a price means the better of two art forms. would u want to get acrylics that are less vibrant than oils just cause it saves u about 2 green peices of paper?? although i say all this i do like old holland acrylics, only kind that fit my standards.
No, acrylic paint dries much faster than oil paints. It depends on if you want to work slowly or quickly.
No, oil is more runny.
Oil and acrylic are very different. Oil paint is oil solubale, while acrylic is water soluble. They can not be mixed together. But you can paint oil over dry acrylic paint but not the other way around. Oil dries longer but there are chemicals to make them dry faster, acrylic dries very fast compared to oil but you can add retarders. Oil paint has colors that are more natural looking and have a dipper tone than acrylics too. Oil paint is more stable than acrylic paint because acrylic dries a little darker when oil does not.
no that is why one is called oil and one is called acrylic. I have never liked oil paint for it takes a long time to dry sometimes days. Acrylic i love because it blends nicely, drys quickly and if you get it all over you and you will..it easily washes and cleans up. Acrylic is a great paint to start with anyway. how exciting your first painting? wow i would love to experience that for the first time again.
No, acrylic and oils are not the same but either one can be used on a canvas. I started out with acrylics which gave me some good practice but have since moved on to painting with oils. Before i did though i checked out books from the local library to learn the basics of oil painting. My art can be checked out at hellosanantonio.com under artist name ''Guerro'' in the local artists section.
both paints can be used on canvas. i personally prefer acrylic, but that could just be because i don't really know what i'm doing with oil.





a lot of artists favor oil paints, but they do take a very very long time to dry.... like months before they are considered completely dry. i think artists favor oils because they are so malleable and versatile, but keep in mind that they require more skill to be used properly.





pros of oil paints:


- very malleable and versatile


- some say they help to create a more life-like image (because they're versatile i suppose)


- there are probably other benefits that i don't know about because i don't use them





cons of oil paint:


- they take forever to dry


- they require a lot of technical skill to really maximize their potential


- they are significantly more expensive than acrylics


- they do not wash out of clothing - since they are oil-based and not water-based (acrylics are water based)


- you need turpentine or something like it in order to get oil paints off of your brushes, etc. turpentine STINKS and can give you a headache.





pros of acrylics:


- cheaper


- supposedly washable (they dont *always* come out of clothing, but you have a chance of them washing out, at least... and they wash right off of skin)


- easier to work with at first (this one... im not sure that they are easier when you are a beginner, i just know that as a beginner you may be wasting the potential of oils if you don't know how to make them do what you want)





cons of acrylics:


- it is harder to make acrylics ';chunky'; looking. when you see a painting with big chunks and a lot of texture, you're probably looking at an oil painting (or a mixed media piece that uses actual cloth or objects to create the texture). if you try to layer too much with acrylics, chipping occurs. however, i only use acrylics and i *never* paint anything with less than like 5 layers, and i haven't really had a problem.... i just have had art teachers say ';that's going to crack, right there';... but it never does.





- acrylics are less malleable than oils.





all in all, as a beginner, i would advise going with acrylics. i could be partial to these though, because i only use acrylics. BUT, i only use acrylics right now because i just haven't really learned to use oils yet.





edit: you could also choose to go with oils, because after all, the sooner you start experimenting with oil paints, the faster you'll become proficient with them. i guess it all depends on how good you want to become and what you want to do with the specific painting you are working on.

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