As an experiment, I decided to have a real contest between oil and acrylic paints by painting the same design in each medium.  I picked a design that I have done quite a few times, so it’s like second nature now.  Here is the same design, the same size canvas panel, using the same colors, but one is done with oil paints and the other is with acrylic.

Tiny Red Retreat in Acrylic

Tiny Red Retreat in Oil

Acrylic:  I like the crisp lines and the cartoon-like look.

Oil:  I like the smooth transitions, the easy blending, and the rich colors.  I think the oil colors also appear a little more life-like than the acrylic, using essentially the same painting techniques.

Each medium has its merits in the finished product, just as they do when discussing the application process (oils dry so slow, acrylics dry so fast).   Ultimately, I find that rather than being able to pick one medium over the other, I find that I really enjoy the contrast.  It’s nice to use acrylics, and apply multiple layers of paint in one day.  But, sometimes it’s nice to be able to leave your oils out and pick them right back up after dinner, or a nice session of cookie-making!

These will eventually become Etsy paintings (I think I have the acrylic one available already, and the oil should be ready any day now).