help me understand

Toadi

As I am new to this, can someone explain what I should look for when some of these paintings are done with acrylics and oils? Is there a way to tell the difference?

Lilikins

Do you mean bobs or from artists on this site? I believe Bob only used oils with the exception of some acrylic under as a base in a few paintings - he will tell you in the video if he did. For the artists here there’s an option to select which medium was used when you upload a painting. If it was selected - and most people do - then it will be displayed under the artists description of the painting/drawing. Hope that helps!

Toadi

Sorry, to clarify....other paintings, I was wanting to know if lookng at the painting if you can tell which part is acrylic and what is oil paint.

Ian_Adkins

Texture is a clue. Acrylic tends to build up fast because of its quick drying properties, giving it an impasto texture without trying. Of course, there are various media that can be added to thin or retard drying, etc. There is a difference in sheen, as well, but I don't know how I would describe it. Best thing you can do is compare one of both kinds side by side. One final test, if it's your own property, is to find a bit of raised paint in an innocuous area, and press down with your fingernail. If it leaves a little indent, it's probably acrylic, which is a plastic of course. If it doesn't yield, it's probably oil.

Toadi

Ian_Adkins Lilikins Thank you both so much. I'm going to go check some out and look for both texture and lines

Lilikins

In person it’s easier based on texture but you can sometimes tell based on the harshness of the lines. Oil by nature can much more easily give a soft transition of color where it’s much more difficult to achieve in acrylic. It can be done though - it’s just more difficult due to the drying time. I have seen many acrylic paintings I would have sworn were oils - it just depends on the artist and style.

Lilikins

Toadi check out Kevin hills YouTube page. He’s done a couple side by side videos of oil vs acrylic which will show you the difference. Out of curiosity why do you ask? Are you looking to see which medium you want to work in?

Toadi

Lilikins ...I will go look for those videos....thank you so muc! Above you will find another response from me, I forgot to talk to you, sorry bout that.

Toadi

no, I want to do them both. I've been watching Gary Jenkins and his wife Kathwren on their channel. I am just trying to understand why they do acrylics under oil. I figured it was for the faster drying time of the background. Then I saw a parrot on here that someone did....can't find it to save me and saw that they used both kinds on their painting. I was wondering if after it dried if I could see differences and what to look for because it all looked the same to my virgin art eyes, LOL......I have done 2 paintings in oil with liquid white under them. One was a tree and the other was daisies & a coffee cup.....both of course for my Mom. My husband was impressed and so was Mom, that's all that matters to me plus I had a fun time.

doggymommee8301

Toadi I believe Hado was the artist of the parrot. Many of her paintings she does acrylic under oil.

Lilikins

Toadi ah I understand now!

Yes this is a technique many artists who paint animals use. While on my animal painting study quest I found many artists doing this exact thing. Their reasoning was that due to the fast drying nature of acrylics, you can go over it as many times as you like in acrylic to get those fine details and then go back over it with oil to soften the details - in particular the fur. In acrylic it’s wonderful for detailing but it’s so hard to get fur that looks right. You either get one solid mass or it looks kind of wirey. If you look at my kitty painting in the holiday event you can see how it can look with just acrylic. You can soften those hard edges to a point but it takes a lot more time and energy than if you just use oil on top to finish.

The artists I have watched on YouTube can make those bold and wirey strands because they know that the oil they put on top to glaze will soften those lines. There’s one artist who is a favorite around here (someone help me out - she’s British and has a patreon account) who paints her animals all in monochromatic coloring to get the values and detailing and then goes back over in oil to soften and color. This lets you “cheat” by taking advantage of the benefits of of both mediums and the layering gives overall depth to your painting. If/when my lungs recover I want to try this technique but for now I can’t use oil. If you do try this my suggestion would be to paint with both and get comfortable with their properties before combining.

Always remember - you can paint oil over acrylic but never the other way around!

Toadi

doggymommee8301 ....YES YES that is it. Can I talk to her somehow to see why she does that?

doggymommee8301

Toadi next time you see one of her paintings comment on it and ask her! I remember seeing some of her comments about drying time as well as saving on the cost of oils since they’re normally much more expensive. Also, if you look at the paintings that were submitted in the waterworks event, the one with the baby with two fish swimming by it was done in the same way. I’m sure she’d be happy to tell you thoughts as well.

Toadi

Lilikins , thank you so much!!!!! If you do run across that artist, I would love to know

wybnormal

MazArt.. Maz Dutton does the Acrylic and then oil trick and hails from the UK Definitely a favorite of mine.. in fact, I'm doing one right now from her using acrylics for the base and rough images of the flower then going over in oils.

Lilikins

wybnormal that’s it thank you!!! It was driving me nuts.

Thats right you did one of hers with snow and that pretty moon. I actually learned about her after you posted that painting. Completely slipped my mind.