A lot of people have mispreconceptions about oil.  They think you have to work on large canvases.  Also, they think it's smelly and messy.  Not true.  I work on canvases as large as 30 x 60 inches to the smallest at 3 x 4 inches.  As for the smell, there is a substitute for tupentine called low odor thinners, and it's only messy if you make it messy.  When you apply oil to canvas, you will find it a lot smoother than acrylic.  In my personal opinion it's a lot harder to control than acrylic.  Also, you have to have lots of patience because oil can take months to dry if you are painting in the impasto style.  Like I said in the getting started section, you don't need much equipment to paint a good picture.  Some artists, well a lot, have hundreds of brushes and paints and equipment etc., but you don't need to. 

Another problem artists have is because oil doesn't dry straight away, it's very easy to make your colours muddy when applying paint to canvas.  With acrylic, it dries in 5 minutes so when one layer is dry you can put another layer on top without the paint mixing in to the other.  Like I've said before, the only way you will get to know and understand this great medium is by experimentation and practice.  Every artist has their own way of painting, so enjoy it and don't take it seriously.

With my oil painting, I have two different styles.  One is my freestyle painting, where it's a more impressionistic approach and where I can experiment more with different colours and not worry too much if it looks right.  The other style is my more detailed realistic approach, where I have to concentrate more.  I've included some close up pictures of my paintings for you to get a better understanding.

FREESTYLE CLOSE UP (OIL)

FREESTYLE CLOSE UP (OIL)

REALISTIC DETAILED STYLE (OIL)

REALISTIC DETAILED STYLE (OIL)

 

 

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