I use to do acrylics – but oil based paintings are much more respectable (in old school world). And I would have to say that oil gives you the ability to build upon the layering affect whereas acrylics is sort of a one shot deal – what you create is what you get, whereas oil gives you the ability to layer and build upon the original idea. My two cents (no vado, I am not looking for change). Build your own frame and gesso your own canvas – this will save you a lot of $$$.

i plan on doing my own canvas sets........

reasons i said acry is because i stay in a basement so the fumes of oils might be an issue......


b

Another comment – what are you intending to create? An architecture rendering might be more appropriate in acrylics (or watercolor) whereas an oil based painting is more appropriate for work that gets placed on a wall.

no renderings..... just spacial ideas ................ more for wall art......... another way to tie my furniture ideas with wall art.........


b

i painted with oil when i first started, even mixing my own paints with pigment and such...i agre the quality of oil paint is special...but it gave me a headache after a year or two of fumes...so switched to acrylic and used that for ages....it too can be harsh though, cuz it has formaldehyde in it. or it did. haven't painted for 10 years now so things might have changed...i made my own canvases as well. quite easy to make, though tedious. for big paintings i recommend masonite.

if you are underground you might think about watercolor or ink...they tend to be less fumey...

Wall art…237 you are in a position where either medium is appropriate. Try acrylics first (less fumes and easier to work with). Most of the wall art I created is done in acrylics. If you can build a finished product with accuracy and simplicity, it is the way to go. If you are not happy with the results try oil paints where you have the ability to utilize the layered approach. Acrylics have sort of a whimsical final product look whereas oil paints have an older finite old world look.

ink might be an idea......hmmmmm

i was thinking about utilizing wood stains...... even though i could try that outside until i find a real studio space....... i swear, all this space to rent in the detroit area but hardly any work........

what about tinting elmers glue and using that as a medium.......

i have to figure a plan of attack first then build my canvas units then go from there...... i'm not trying to paint still art or buildings.....but more on a play of material concepts.....


2:37am

You should try anything actually.
I used to love oil painting, but that was back when I was living alone, my tiny appartment was a mess, there was dust, papers and paint tubes everywhere. I actually used to love the smell of it. But if it has to be related to arch, as other said, any medium is fine.
Now that I'm doing pro renderings for architecture, I realize that I learned a lot from oil painting when I use photoshop for instnace. As Katze said, it's really about adding stuff to make your idea better, more real somehow. You can keep on painting on the same canvas for ever, with the feeling you never make mistakes since you can always change it. Sometimes you remember the painting, how it was before and you regret it. But you feel that you can make it better.
The beauty of oil painting is that it's never finished.

smell of oil point is nice. my grandmother was a more-or-less pro painter of landscapes and never strayed from oils...i still associate the smell with her.

funny you should mention the connection between painting and rendering. i notice some similarites as well, even though the medium is entirely different...

237

like others here i started off using oil paints. i don't paint with
it any longer for a variety of reasons. the smell is a bit much and
overall the chemicals and solvents required to clean brushes and
mix with your paint is far more damaging to hands, brain etc. than
their acryclic equivalent (obviously since it's water).

secondly, the time oils take to dry is far too long for me..fine for some, but i distaste how long i have to wait before i can rework something in oil. acrylic's waiting time is about a half hour.

their are additives for acrylic that allow you to get similar affect to
oils if you desire thicker paint, longer drying times etc. color used
to be a problem, but i don't think it's as true anymore. golden
acrylics makes a heavy body acrylic paint that i swear by. great
paint. the only problem with them is that some acrylic paint
(specifically some special colors) is very thin and doesn't cover well. i don't know if this is true in oil.

i paint on mdf using an water based primer (kilz). i have yet to have
a major problem with the paint and primer reacting to one another.
kilz is pretty cheap compared to gesso (i believe). it's something
like 25 for a gallon..and the stuff goes a long way and makes a very
smooth/sandable surface. i personally prefer not having the painting
surface 'give' when i'm painting..so the solid surface of mdf is
perfect for me...maybe not so much for you. i believe it's cheaper
than canvas though..not 100% on that. i do think that if you want
to paint on canvas though that you're going to want to paint on linen
which is not so cheap. the regular everyday canvas (imo) is frustratin
as hell to get smooth...but maybe i didn't put on enough coats of
gesso.

+1 for acrylic

if your intent is experimentation, it's a flexible paint. it can do a lot. one of my studio professors was a painter, trained by Josef Albers waaay back in the day. He taught us to mix acrylic paint with water and use it like watercolor paint. using this method you're able to acheive transparency via layering, and convicing luminosity.

otherwise, i always enjoyed oil pastels. Not paint exactly, but tons of fun, very rich and deep color.

also...painting over an oil pastel surface with acetone (or other chemical) has some interesting effects. everything's worth tryin' once.

As mentioned by many others, oil has stronger fumes with some undesirable side effects with too much of it. Either way, a well ventilated area with soft natural light would be ideal for either mediums. Unless the basement has both of those, which seems unlikely, I wouldn't recommend either for that kind of environment.

If you want to experiment with watercolor and ink, I would recommend experimenting with various inks vs. paper. Some might find it trivial, but the way the paper absorbs color plays a huge part in the piece.

Lighting plays a huge part as well. Nothing like having what you thought was a great painting and putting it under a different light to find that its not so great.

Personally, I like oil painting with a textured canvas. Its hard to duplicate the richness of oil painting with anything else in my opinion. Although (as a warning), oil paint fumes mixed with terpentine can start smelling pleasant, possibly due to links with positive memories, but it is still toxic.

the mdf idea might be worth a try.......

i think i'll check out a few paint store this weekend and see what i can find........

any specific brushes/containers i should invest in?......

thanks
2:37am

oil paints tend to be more $$ then acrylics. oil brushes tend to be more $$ then acrylic brushes (natural versus plastic bristles).
dont' forget to look into the substrate/primer- gesso is traditional for both or you can also use acrylic media under oil too.

acrylic under oil - ok
oil under acrylic - no way

/w\

good acrylic can be just as pricey i believe...

as far as brushes...i'd buy different kinds for different paint.
natural hair bristles are nicer for acryclic too...it's obviously a
sort of feel thing..price does relate to quality typically as well..
and there's nothing worse than a bad brush. bad/cheap brushes
tend to lose hair and are just awful to paint with anyway. not a
place to save money imo. there are some cheap paints that
are worth using..at least for layout...(i use a paint called basic
i think) to layout form and where final color will go.

are you near pearl paint? or utrecht? you may also want to
check online...i've almost always bought from pearl or charette.

there's a utrech downtown...... and a few other art stores..... i might go and browse to see what they have then maybe order on line or soemthing........



thanks for the advice
2:37am

the fumes are what make it worth doing...

is it straight?

I was thinking.....finger painting...but vado did me one better!

here is my latest collage...

Mix gesso into acrylics and you can create some crazy textures that only seem possible with oils.

I worked with acrylics for about 5 yrs then I switched to oils and never looked back. No painting medium can parallel the richness and depth you can create with oil paints. If you can find a well ventilated area, I would heartily recommend using oil and turps on the side to keep you on a high...

i unfortunately made my first painting (acrylic) experiment as a gift for my wife. i hate it. i'm embarrassed by it. but she loves it. i can't take the damn thing down and i can't fix it. arrrgh!

moral: keep your practice pieces to yourself or you may regret it.

just paint over your mistakes...