[santagibbs]

Nice painting Nancy.. it is done very well for your first painting... I loved to look at Bob Ross also and taped some of his lessons... Keep up the good work . Charlotte

[Mottles]

Hi Nancy, good start for a beginning oil painter--love the bold color! Keep it up and you'll be able to add fine art painter to your many talents!
Kathy

[Nancy-ID]

Originally Posted by Mottles

Hi Nancy, good start for a beginning oil painter--love the bold color! Keep it up and you'll be able to add fine art painter to your many talents!
Kathy

Kathy, thank you for the nice comments. I just went to your website and you are a wonderful painter! Maybe you can answer a few questions for me. First off, carving is #1 to me but I think I might like to try my hand at painting in between projects. I am leaning toward acrylics but to be honest I don't know enough about either that or oils to decide. What are the pros and cons of both? I know there is the thing of the acrylics drying quickly, but it seems there are things that can slow that down like the flow medium. I guess my real question would be, is one better than the other in trying to achieve realism? Or is that totally technique? I would like to do, of course , realistic animals. Any help you might give me in sending me in the right direction will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Mottles]

Hi Nancy, first of all thank you for your nice compliment about my painting.
I'll try and give you some of my thoughts about oil vs acrylic. To begin with my all time favorite actually isn't oil or acrylic or even pastel it's 'gouache' opaque watercolor.
For my newly found love of working with wood I prefer oil for painting relief plaques. I prefer the bottle acrylic such as Americana (for carvings in the round) mainly because it has artists color names I can relate too such as yellow ochre etc. Also Delta Ceramcoat is another good one. I tried using my artist tube acrylics on wood and didn't feel the density coverage was that great. It seems to me that the bottle acrylics are more suited for painting on wood, better coverage. Usually one application is enough. If your using a glaze technique then it works ok, but for thicker applications no. Not for me anyway!

I have always been a fan of working with oil paints as that is where I started. I love the way the oil mixes and flows on canvas. The fact that oil takes longer to dry than acrylic is a draw back for some folks. Oil gives you more working time and if you put a color down and it's not working you can just scrape it off and begin again. Somes folks don't care for the turpentine ordor, which there is a product called orderless turpenoid by Weber that I use. There also is an oil paint which was developed several years ago that uses water instead of turpentine. I personally don't care for it--call me old fashion. LOL
Acrylic is a wonderful medium, dries fast allowing one to move from one area to another quickly in the composition. You can buy retarding mediums to slow down the drying process if that is what you want. Cleans up with water adhere's well to both canvas and paper. Not so great for out of door painting as compared to oil. Acrylic works great for underpainting and covering large area's quickly. I do this a lot if I have a large canvas to cover then I go over the top with oils. One rule do not put acrylic paint over oil paint it will not adhere properly. Oil paint will take longer to dry than acrylic--oil can feel dry on the surface, but still be wet underneath. Depending also on how thick you apply oil to canvas. Interestingly, oil drys much, much faster when applied to wood and allows me to work faster on each area of the relief plaque. After I have completed my relief carving I apply two coats of Danish oil. Let dry and begin with the oils.
Choice of oil or acrylic is purely a personal decision, but I do feel one should try each and then decide. Each one has it's own good and bad points it's your decision.
I was lucky early on to work with a talented painter who didn't limit herself to any one medium. I was able to learn so much from her and it gave me a chance to explore a lot of wonderful mediums. I like to work with a limited palette whether it's oil, acrylic or gouache. My palette of colors consists of
Titanium White, Cad. Yellow Light, Cad. Cad. Red Light, Dioxazine Purple, Ultramarine Blue, Cad. Green Light. From these colors I can mix any color I might need in a painting. Earth colors I like are Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, and Burnt Umber. Any of these earth colors can be mixed from the above colors.
You've already made an investment in oil colors and brushes--so spend more time practing with the oils. I would recommend the following limited palette for acrylics. Titanium White, Cad. Yellow light, Cad. Red Light and Ultramarine Blue. From these primary colors you make mix the following Yellow + Red = Orange, Red + Blue = Purple and Yellow + Blue = Green. This way you will not be spending a lot of money and decide Acrylic is not for you.
Painting like wood carving all have an expense and there is always one more things you need. Or you think you need LOL....
Hope this helps, I know I have jumped around but I have to tell it as I think about it. Another LOL.
If I can help at any time please just ask!
Kathy

[falconer]

Hey Nancy that turned out pretty good!! How did you like painting with oils?

[Nancy-ID]

Kathy, thanks so much for all that information. Sorry I did not respond sooner but this past week has been hectic and not much fun , spent Friday in the ER, I've been having episodes like a heart attack so I finally gave in and went to the emergency room. EKG and heart enzimes are good so apparently no HA. Lungs good. So they fingure I am having a combination of Costochondritis and stress. ANYWAY . . . actually I have nothing into oil painting, that class provided everything. I do however have way too much invested in acrylics . About $300. I seem to have forgotten I have a huge hospital bill coming soon So taking my investment into consideration I guess I go with acrylics. I enrolled in a 12 week course that starts Thursday night. If it doesn't get cancelled due to lack of students enrolled. Since I finished my current carving project this morning, today I am going to work on setting up a painting area upstairs. Oh my, another hobby. Oh yes, I am also signed up for another oil class by the same instructor on the 17th, I had so much fun there thought I'd do it again even if I am going acrylic. I gott'a be crazy

[Mottles]

Well, geez you've had quite a time girl! Take care of yourself and watch that Costochondritis and stress.
You are most welcome for the info and if I can help just let me know. Acrylics are a wonderful medium and very easy to adapt to thick or thin painting. I've seen acrylic used in a watercolor technique on paper and I'd dare anyone to tell the difference. Oil is another story, there is just something about oil that appears richer in color. Just my opinion.
Well, take care and enjoy your classes.
Kathy
PS: I think you are doing the right thing by taking classes you'll learn from each one.

[Merle Rice]

It looks to me like you were paying close attention to the instructor. Very nice Painting.
Merle

[run_in_bare]

looks great , And I think Bob would be proud .
ED

[Mark N. Akers]

Nancy:
Great job on the painting.