Difference Between Oil and Acrylic Painting
Oil painting is the most preferred painting style and practiced by most artists around the world. It is done by using oil paint. Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil.
Oil paint was invented long ago. Oil paints were first used in Asia as early as the 7th century AD. The oldest known oil paintings are
Buddhist murals created almost at 650 AD. The paintings are created by walnut and poppy seed oils. The paintings are located in cave-like rooms carved from the cliffs of
Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan. Later it was used by most famous artists like
Vincent Van Gogh,
Leonardo da Vinci,
Pablo Picasso.
On the other hand, Acrylic paintings are products of acrylic paints, which is a fast drying water based paint used by most artists. It is a mix composition of latex (watercolor) and oil paints.
The acrylic paint was invented by
Otto Rohm and introduced around 1934 by
Leonard Bocour and
Sam Golden. Later it was used by most famous artists like
Andy Warhol,
David Hockney,
Robert Motherwell.
The oil paint is made by mixing color pigments with drying oils like poppy seed oil, walnut oil, linseed oil, safflower oil etc. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the dried oil paint film.
On the contrary, We need to understand acrylic paint and its components in order to understand acrylic paintings better. The ingredients used to create acrylic paints include plasticizers, silicon oils, defoamers, stabilisers, metal soaps, etc. The pigments are suspended in water-soluble acrylic resins or acrylic polymer emulsions. Interestingly, acrylic paint is water soluble but becomes water-resistant after drying.
Oil paint allows the artist to achieve a broad range of opacity and intensity in their work. It lets artists to layer multiple colors and blend them together to produce a stunning piece of artwork. Moreover, due to the slow-drying quality of the oil paint, an artist can develop a painting gradually and can make changes or corrections easily. Oil paintings are fragile art pieces that are quickly damaged by light, heat, humidity, dust, and other pollutants.
But, Depending on the amount of diluted paints with water, or depending on the acrylic gels or paste density, the same completed acrylic painting might resemble a watercolor, gouache, or oil painting, or have its own distinct features not achievable with other media.But unlike the oil paint, the acrylic paint dried up rapidly. The acrylic paint can resist heat better than other types of paints, as it contains high heat resisting silicon resins as binder, also acrylic paint is more resistant to both water and ultraviolet light.
Oil paint is suitable for both indoor and outdoor application on wood and metal because to its hard wearing characteristics and brilliant hues. It has lately been employed in paint-on-glass animation due to its delayed drying qualities.
In opposition, One of the finest paints for resistance to water and heat is acrylic. Acrylic paint is applied on walls, wood, canvas, and the majority of other surfaces—including those that will be outside—for this reason.
Oil paints mix readily, allowing for subtle color changes as well as the creation of many light and shadow elements. Oil paintings can be thinned using turpentine or other thinning chemicals, allowing painters to layer their work. Being oil based paint, the oil paintings dries very slowly but once dried they lasts for years.
Instead, Acrylics may be used to create effects that imitate watercolors and other water-based mediums when applied in thin layers or washes. Gel and moulding paste are occasionally used to produce paintings with relief elements, and they can also be used to construct thick layers of paint. Acrylic paint's ability to impart both the transparency of watercolor and the roughness of oil paint makes it beautiful to use, but still acrylic paintings dried up quickly and lasts comparetively less duration as compared to oil paints.
Despite the fact that some oil paints are non-toxic, it is not advisable to apply them directly to the skin because some of the pigments could be poisonous. The oil paint could irritate your skin if it gets on it. Almost all types of oil paints are not vegan friendly because they use oil as the pigment binder and some of those binders have animal origins.
Yet, When handled properly, acrylics are generally quite safe to use. However, some acrylic paint is not eco-friendly as it contains propylene glycol and other substances that are harmful to the environment but not for individuals. In a similar manner, acrylic paints are vegan because they are made from acrylic polymer resin and pigment.