Oil vs. Acrylic: What Is the Best Paint for You?
You’re just not sure whether to use acrylic or oil for your next canvas? This is what you need to know when you question oil vs. acrylic.
Painting is a great way to artistically express yourself. Putting your thoughts into strokes on canvas is an intrinsic experience that creates something beautiful.
Finding the right type of paint to express yourself is an important step. One of the most common choices to make is between oil-based and acrylic-based paints.
If you’ve never encountered or worked with each type of paint before, it may be difficult to know which one to use. This article will go into all the details related to oil vs. acrylic paint and help you decide which one is right for you.
Oil-Based Paints
Oil paints have been used for many hundreds of years to create beautiful, artistic works. They are typically made from small particles of pigment put in a drying oil.
Many artists prefer oil paints due to their slow drying nature. This allows an artist to work and rework with the paint on a canvas before it dries into a final state.
Other common advantages of oil paints include having a tough, hard finish after its dried. If you want your work to last a long time, oil based paints offer a lot of resistance to heavy use and natural elements. They also blend well with other types of paint that help create unique brushstrokes and blends.
Acrylic-Based Paints
Acrylic paints are a more recent invention, only coming into popular use in the 1950s. They are made from pigments suspended in an acrylic based polymer emulsion.
If you’re looking for something that will dry quickly, acrylic based paints are the way to go. These paints dry in a shorter amount of time than oil paints, some even trying in just an hour.
The drying time can even be tailored to your personal preferences. If you want something that will take longer to dry and will be easier to rework, all you have to do is find the right brand and apply the right amount of thickness to the canvas.
Acrylic paints are also perfect for pieces of work you want to last and age gracefully. These paints tend to be more permanent than other forms, meaning they won’t lose their appearance and color as quickly as others.
Choosing Between Oil Vs. Acrylic
The best choice between oil vs. acrylic ultimately comes down to the type of work you’re trying to produce.
Think about drying time and longevity. If you want a hard, slow drying paint, go with oil. If you want the permanent, quick drying paint, go with the acrylic.
Ultimately, you should work with both of these types of paints in order to become a more well-rounded artist. You can only master the differences between them if you have experience with both.
Get Painting
The oil vs. acrylic debate will continue to rage on for years from now. The most important thing is to get out there and get painting. You can spend time worrying about the differences between the two, but until you actually put brush to canvas, it won’t matter.
Get to that canvas and start painting. Check out the rest of our site for inspiration, reviews, and tutorials.
