Renaissance Acrylic Paintings Versus Oil Paintings

By George Ward


When you are a novice at painting, you will need to choose between acrylic and oil paintings. Picking a medium need not be hard if you understand your abilities. Each of the mediums has its pros and cons. Here, the article looks at the reasons why you may end up doing Renaissance acrylic paintings instead of the oil paintings.

Historically, it was only possible to paint on wood, canvas, or frescos. Today, you can work on any surface thanks to acrylic. Therefore, if you want a versatile medium, then acrylic is the solution. It provides quality on different grounds as long as it is not glass. Oil allows you to work well with wood and primed canvas; hence, limiting your options.

Your speed will be another determinant of what you can use. If at all you are a quick painter, then you may have to choose acrylic over oil. This is because it dries faster, but oil remains wet for long; hence, appropriate for someone, who needs enough time to revise the painting. The oil paint could also cost you much time when you have to prepare the canvas surface by priming it in case it is not pre-primed from the shop.

The choice will also be determined by your preference between subtle blends and hard lines. For lovers of graphic composition, then acrylic works best for a clean outcome since it dries faster allowing for reworking. However, if it is about color blending, then oil comes in handy, but the only problem is that you have to take longer for it to dry.

If at all you are concerned about color shift, then you ought to be careful on the paint of choice. With acrylics, you can somehow be sure that your painting will look the same some years to come since it is made with high technology designs. On the other hand, oil paintings contain binder that makes the painting appear yellow with time. The polymer in acrylics prevents this, but the work may get darker as it dries when the white binder gets clearer.

Additionally, the thickness or thinness of your layers will tell you what exactly to pick. In case you prefer thick layers that are ready fast enough to allow for glazing, then acrylics are a better choice. This is because it dries faster. Nevertheless, you may use oil if at all you have sufficient time to wait for it to dry and apply the glaze. This may take some days.

In case you have to do with a small workspace or around children, then acrylics would work better for you. This is because it does not smell. Similarly, it is not toxic and is easy to clean with water. The thinners and turpentine in oil produce some bad fumes.

Of much essence in picking the right medium is time. When you have little time to work on your painting, then you will go for the paint for the sake of drying faster. If you can wait for days especially when working on thick paintings, you may go for oil, which takes time to dry. Consider your preferences.




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