Paint Battles

Have you ever wondered what's the big difference between oils and acrylics? I'll break it down in four parts for you; pricing, durability, color and technique. I don't mean pricing as in the cost of the paint, I mean pricing in the cost of the painting. I'm sure art buyers repeatedly hear about the great quality of oil paintings, so inherently artist charge more money for oils. If you're looking at buying art and would like to make a good investment, don't get fooled into buying a piece just because it's an oil painting. Buying art should first come from the connection you have to the piece and second (here is my business mind at work) if that piece will retain its value. If an artist has been painting professionally for a while then they're most likely, but not always, the better investment. It has nothing to do with oil or acrylic, it has to do with lastingness and recognition. 

I'm always surprised with how easily artists are convinced that oils have better durability than acrylics. Here are a few facts about oils you might not know. Oils crack, yellow and can even eat away a poorly treated canvas. In the 50 years since the invention of acrylics, they haven't cracked, yellowed or altered. Acrylics are also great if you're a mixed media artist because it has great bonding properties. For 50 years these crusty old conservators have been trying to defend oils, and science, not myth, says that acrylics have better durability. Even though durability might seem to have the final say on the debate, we need to remember that oils and acrylics have different chemical compositions which will give the artist different results.

One thing I know  for certain about acrylics is their lack of pigment load, which is how much pigment the paint can hold. The pigment load is very import because it's what covers your grids, guides and pencil marks with fewer applications. I've also found oils have a consistent pigment load, while acrylic yellow, orange and red have the worst. There is nothing more frustrating than painting the same base coat over and over, which also takes more paint. Yes, oils are more expensive but they also cover better than acrylics. That's probably why you hear people saying that an oil painting is more colorful than an acrylic. 

The final difference between oils and acrylics is technique. Because one is oil-based and the other water-based, you'll have drastically different drying times and viscosities. If you want to paint lots of detail, little hue and very quickly it might help to use acrylics. If you want to layer colors and use a "fat over Lean" approach then oils might be your choice. Acrylics are very hard to blend on the canvas because they dry so quickly, but with oils careful planning is important if you're planning lots of detail, since drastic changes aren't always easy to accomplish. 

I mostly paint with acrylics and can tell you not all brands are created equal. I generally use 3 brands in acrylics, Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, and Daler-Rowney, but I only use Winsor & Newton for oils. Liquitex makes BASIC, and the name says it all. BASIC has the lowest pigment load of all brands, so be prepared to layer and layer and layer. Liquitex also makes a heavier grade Liquitex that's pretty good. The no-basic Liquitex and Winsor & Newton have similar pigment properties and viscosity. Personally I prefer the Daler-Rowney System 3, if I can find them. That's what Walmart carries for $5 but other art shops charge $10. The only problem is getting a good color selection at Walmart. System 3 also has a skin tone which can be helpful with portraits since acrylics don't blend well on the canvas, but you will not find it at Walmart. The System 3 Titanium White is the best white and highly recommended. Recently, I tested the Dick Blick brand and must say they're the closest to System 3 and a really good price. The worst brand I tried was Van Gogh which is now Amsterdam. I wonder why they changed names, because they suck. 

Well, hopefully that covers the paint battles since it really just comes down to what you're painting, and how much time you have. I'll probably always love and hate them both for their own unique properties.