Let me start by saying that I am not a professional painter. I am just a hobbyist who gets much satisfaction from painting. Am I good? That depends on your definition of good. I still have a lot to learn, but I enjoy it a lot, AND I want to know everything there is to learn.
I have been drawing and painting since I was a child. Just like every child draws and paints in their early years. And like many others, I have completely dropped it over the years and have not looked at it for years. Now and then I would get an impulse and I had to create something again, but it was never serious. When a few years ago the urge arose for the umpteenth time to start painting again, I decided to take it a bit more seriously. And that resulted in visible progress. To be honest, I often look at my work in amazement because I did not expect myself to be able to make something like that. It does not come completely by itself, that is one certain thing. It remains a journey of discovery where I keep encountering myself again and again.
Perhaps it also plays a role that I never had any training in painting or drawing. I struggle quite often with the proportions. But here too, practice makes perfect. I often think that I should take a course, and I miss the fact that I was not allowed to follow a course in that direction. My parents did not encourage me to continue. They always saw it as a fun hobby that I could do on the weekends in the winter, but that was it. They never encouraged me to go in that direction, on the contrary. "Fun, but spend your time on useful things," they often said.
It often surprises even me that I now notice that painting is currently completely my thing. It is a way to forget the world for a while, to immerse myself in my creations. A way to empty my head, and a way to create on canvas what I would like to be myself. My fantasy, my world.
From Cheap Acrylic to More Expensive Acrylic
When I was still half-heartedly involved in painting, I mainly worked with cheap acrylic paint. That's what happens when your parents like it, but see no added value in it at all. I'm programmed that way. A hobby may cost some money, but why would you buy the expensive stuff if it can also be cheap? The quality of the paint was completely unimportant. Paint is paint. So as a result, there was little character in the colors and the coverage was often disappointing. When I started taking painting a bit more seriously a few years ago thanks to the encouragement of my partner, I switched to more expensive acrylic paint. And I thought that made a world of difference. The colors were more intense, the paint worked more smoothly and I finally felt that I had some control over what I was doing.
The Gift of Oil Paint
But now it's time for something new. My partner had the idea in his head that my painting style lends itself to oil paint. And so, without my knowledge, he ordered a few tubes of oil paint. Just the three primary colors with black and white. And when they arrived home, he was excited to give them to me. I was totally surprised because I had never even seriously thought about whether I wanted to work with oil paint at all. It is a completely different medium, it works very differently. And I am not very patient either, which seemed to me a necessity for working with oil paint. But yes, now I suddenly had those tubes in my hands. What else is there to do than try it out?
Before I started, I scrolled endlessly through YouTube videos. Because let's be honest: painting with oil paint is a completely different beast than painting with acrylic. And I had the feeling that I didn't know anything about this yet. I need to know BEFORE I start what I have to do, and how I have to build something up. I can go 'crazy' if I don't use the right order to build up a layered painting. And with acrylic paint, you just go over the previous layer without any problems. With oil paint, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when it comes to building up layers. The materials, the techniques, the drying times, everything is different. And even though I’m just getting started, I still have a lot to learn. I still feel like I don’t quite understand how to do it right, I can already say that it’s going to be a challenging, but incredibly rewarding transition.
The Differences Between Acrylic and Oil Paint
Let’s take a look at the biggest differences I’ve come across.
Drying Time: The first thing you’ll notice when switching from acrylic to oil is the drying time. Acrylic paint dries within minutes to hours, depending on the thickness and the ambient temperature. Oil paint, on the other hand, can take days, weeks, or even months to dry completely. This means you have a lot more time to mix, correct, and play with colors. But it also means you have to be patient, something I have to get used to quite a bit.
Mixing and Colour: Because oil paint stays wet for a long time, you can blend your colors much better and more beautifully, resulting in much more subtle transitions and nuances. With acrylic paint, blending well is and remains a challenge. And you have to work quickly because the paint dries quickly. I noticed that the colors also appear deeper and richer with oil.
Texture and Techniques: Oil paint has its unique textures, but it requires a lot more technique to master. I am just starting so I still have a lot to learn before I feel comfortable with it. The paint glides across the canvas and offers endless possibilities for experimentation, especially when you start using mediums like linseed oil or turpentine.
Forgiveness: Acrylic paint is fairly forgiving. If you make a mistake, you can paint over it fairly quickly. This part is not going to happen with oil paint. Working with oil paint requires patience and planning. Because it stays wet for so long, you often have to wait before you can correct any mistakes. But the good news is that you can tackle other parts of your painting in the meantime.
My First Plays with Oil Paint
I have now done a few practice paintings with oil paint, and I am slowly feeling a little more confident with oil paint. Let's just say that it was quite a challenge for me, to overcome my lack of confidence in working with oil paint. But I also had to overcome my fear of doing it wrong and the feeling that I didn't know what I was doing. The confidence that I have in acrylic paint was nowhere to be found when it came to working with oil paint. It was ... let's say, a confrontation with myself, a big challenge. But every day I learn something new. I still look for new YouTube videos to watch every day, I search for information and feel like a sponge that absorbs everything there is to learn. But the most important thing I learned is that I shouldn't be afraid to fail. As Bob Ross said years ago, "We don't make mistakes, we have HAPPY LITTLE ACCIDENTS".
I'm far from done exploring. There are so many techniques and styles that I want to try, and I'm about to take it a step further. But I just wanted to share the first few oil paint games with you. It's a new adventure for me, and I'm grateful to my partner for his thoughtful gift that finally made me take the plunge.
Not my best photos, I took them outside in the full sun with wet oil paint