Paintings make a fortune for the artist, especially when one is a masterpiece with overwhelming creativity. However, their value could vary depending on the type of paint used and its quality. If you are looking to invest in these valuable pieces, you may want to know whether you are buying an oil or acrylic painting. So, how do you tell if is it oil or acrylic?
To differentiate the two painting types, you consider different factors like age, texture, and edges of the painting. However, the quickest way to tell between acrylic and an oil based painting is to smell it. An oil painting has a linseed smell, unlike the odorless 
acrylic painting or water based paint.
The differences in the painting are not as distinct as they are in the paint itself. Once it’s dry on the painting, it may require a bit of attention and scrutiny to tell which one it is. This article looks at the different things you can look at to know if a painting is oil or acrylic.
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How Do You Tell If A Painting Is Oil Or Acrylic?
If you have been in the painting industry for a while, or rather are an aficionado or just enjoy art, you may have noticed that oil paintings exhibit different characteristics compared to acrylic paintings. This is due to the differences in the paint characteristics like thickness, texture, and whether or not there are additives in the paint (could it be a mixed media painting? was paint thinner used?).
These characteristics determine the painting’s drying time, surface finish, ageing, and edge formation. Therefore, you can use these characteristics to tell the difference. Let’s discuss them.
Age
Is the painting new or old? If the painting is new, this point may not help you as much because you should check for how much paint has seeped into the canvas. So, if the painting is quite new, you can consider other factors described in this article.
However, if the painting has been around for years, you can check the canvas for any discoloration. If you notice some yellowing color on the painting, then that’s an oil painting. It might take years to see some leech on the canvas because artists apply an anti-leech base on the canvas.
For those artists who paint without applying gesso to protect the surface, you can see the oil leech into the canvas within a few days. On the other hand, acrylics keep the canvas clean with no leeches whatsoever.
Edges of the painting
Acrylics are more vibrant, and they have a fast drying time. Therefore, they form crisp edges on the painting. When you move your fingers around the edges, you can feel the sharp edges rubbing against your skin.
On the other hand, oil paintings take some time to dry and therefore settle at a softer edge. You can easily tell the difference when you touch both paintings because acrylic paint will always feel crisp and rough at the edges, while an oil based paint will feel soft and well blended.
Texture
The paint layer will feel textured or smooth. When you hold it at an angle and look over it, you can see one that looks layered and another one that looks rubbery. These characteristics examined through looking and touching will tell you which is acrylic and which is oil.
In most cases, acrylics are more layered and have a textured feel, thanks to their fast-drying characteristics. And then, oil paintings will have that rubber-like feeling with a smoother feel.
However, you should know that the texture of the dried paint is controllable, and you can have an oil painting feeling more textured than an acrylic painting. This is done by using additives and paint thickeners that can thicken the paints and improve their texture. Therefore, you must first determine whether there were other additives to the painting or not.
Smell
This is a weird point yet the easiest one to determine between the two types of paintings. The sense of smell is great, and if you have a strong one, you can easily tell which of the two paintings is an acrylic emulsion and which one is oil.
Generally, oil paintings have a distinct linseed smell that remains on the painting for a long time -even when it is not wet paint anymore. So, when you smell an oil painting, you’ll recognize the smell pretty fast. Conversely, acrylic paintings have no smell at all.
If you are not very sure of this method, you can use it as a confirmation after trying out the other methods discussed in this article.
Surface Glow
Another way to tell if the paint is acrylic or oil, you can examine the surface film to see how much it glows. For example, oil paintings have a smooth and glossy finish, and the surface appears glowing and shining.
On the other hand, acrylic paintings have a matte-like finish that appears a little dull. Therefore, if you examine the surface and see it appears glossy, it’s like an oil painting. But if it’s not glossy, then it’s acrylic.
However, this aspect can also be modified through other additives to the paint in order to make it a little thick. This depends on the artist’s preferences. For example, he may want his acrylic paint to have a smooth finish, so he mixes it with some additives to give it a smoother feel.
Paint Thickness
Acrylics are flexible and can be painted on any surface. This is because they exhibit a thin layer when they are poured on a surface. Oil paints are thick and so form a thick layer when painted on a surface. This is why acrylics and other latex paint dry faster and oil paints take longer to dry.
If you want a thicker layer on your acrylic paint, you’ll need to add another layer to it. Therefore, to tell the difference between the two types of paintings, you can check the layers applied to the art and how it appears.
Can Acrylic Painting Look Like Oil?
Acrylics are flowy and light, unlike oils that are quite thick. They both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on how you want to use them. Most artists prefer to use thick and slow-drying paint because it gives them enough time to work on their painting designs, unlike watercolor and paints based on an acrylic polymer.
On the other hand, acrylics bring out a much more detailed painting and are easier to handle. So, artists try to improve acrylics by slowing down their drying time and making them a bit thicker so that they get the advantages of both paints.
They achieve this using additives and paint thickeners to make the acrylic paint thicker. The most common type of paint medium in the market is acrylic gel. It comes in different textures and finishes so that you can choose one that resonates with the kind of painting you want to create.
Other than acrylic gels, some artists choose to use DIY methods to thicken their acrylic paint so that it acts as oil paint. This means that it will take a long time to dry and have a smooth blended finish, just like in an oil painting. The only difference is that it will have the characteristics of acrylic paint and therefore bridges the gap between the two.
If you are using acrylic gels from the store, be sure to read the manufacturer’s instructions and mix them accordingly. The instructions will ensure that you mix them with the right ratio in order to get the best results.
Can You Mix Acrylic And Oil Paints?
These paints are either water-based or oil-based. So, acrylic paints are usually mixed with water and oil paints are mixed with oil. So the question of mixing these two types of paints is like asking (literally?) if you can mix water and oil.
If science is anything to go by, you can certainly tell that these two paints will not mix. Instead, the oil paint separated from the acrylic paint and formed two layers. If they were of different colors, you’ll notice that the acrylic paint color settles at the bottom because water is denser than oil and the oil paint color settles at the top. The paint type is really important when you are experimenting.
However, you can make acrylic paint behave like oil paints in terms of drying time and their behaviour during painting. As mentioned earlier, you can modify the acrylic paint using paint thickeners like acrylic gel and DIY methods where you can make different pastes at home and use them with the paint.
If you have been thinking of mixing the oil paint with the acrylic paint to improve its behavior on the canvas, you can try other methods because it may not work as effectively as you hope. If you choose to proceed and work with the mixture, you’ll realize that the acrylic paint dries faster than the oil paint and thus disrupts the details you may want to incorporate into the drawing.
However, there are some oil paints designed to mix with water. They are called water-soluble oil paints. These paints have been modified chemically to allow the paints to mix properly and thus solving the problem for painters who choose to combine the two.
The only downside about these water-soluble oil paints is that they require other additives like turpentine or other similar chemicals which are considered toxic when inhaled or eaten. This means that these kinds of paints are not friendly at all.
Another approach that painters follow is to use oil paints over an acrylic base in order to give it a smooth finish. This method is more preferable to using an acrylic medium over oil paint.
When you paint acrylic paint over oil paint, it may not adhere properly to the oil surface. You’ll notice that the acrylic paint over the oil paint will peel off in a short time. Well, to improve the adherence of the acrylic paint on the oil surface, you can first apply gesso and then the acrylic paint.
On the other hand, you can choose to apply the acrylic paint first and then follow it up with oil paint. It will work perfectly because acrylic paint dries fast and leaves a rough surface that is good for oil paint adherence. Since the acrylic paint is water-based, it’s porous and allows the oil paint to adhere properly.
When you choose to apply oil paint over acrylic paint, ensure that the layer of acrylic paint is thin enough to allow the other paint to adhere well. One problem that comes with this approach is the possibility of cracking due to the brittle acrylic foundation.
To avoid cracking, strengthen the base with a layer of gesso and then use the oil paint. In the end, you’ll get good results according to your preferences.
Which is Better: Acrylic or Oil Paint?
The quality of the paintings is not determined by the type of paint used in painting them. It’s determined by the detail put into it, the creativity in it, and the size of the painting. However, you can choose which one to work with depending on different factors.
For example, work slowly and would like to incorporate more details? Acrylic paint will dry too fast and deny you the time to make the many details you want. On the other hand, oil paint will give you the time to work on your painting.
Also, you can consider the size of your workspace and how the smell from the oil affects you. For example, if the smell of turpentine bothers you, you can choose to avoid using oil paints and use acrylic paints instead because they have no smell. Remember that you can thicken your acrylic paint and use it with the same properties as oil paint.
Final Words
Paintings go a long way in expressing one’s feelings or communicating an important message. That’s why you must use the kind of paint that captures your intentions fully and give your audience a similar feeling. You can use either acrylic paints or oil paint, depending on your goal.
If you’d like to modify acrylics to look like oil paints, ensure that you do it correctly, whether using acrylic gels or DIY methods.