I started out painting in acrylics, and now I am reading up on painting in oils. I have certainly noticed a huge difference in how people paint using each medium (acrylics vs. oils).
All the things that I have read to teach myself painting with acrylics seem to use a very direct approach to painting. I.e. the artists don't sketch the outlines on the canvas first, don't create an underpainting, and most layering is used to get the different elements of the image on the painting into the right place.
Also, While I have seen glazing of acrylics after most of the painting is done, it seems to only be done for certain effects and isn't the norm.
Recently I have been reading all about oil painting techniques (However, I have yet to use oils). Oil painting seems much more formal and complicated than acrylics. Oil painters seem to start with a sketch of some kind on the canvas, then an underpainting is done, then there are all of these layers done. Many of of the layers are for glazing on top of glazing - 2, 3, or even 4 layers of paint over the same area. Oil painting seems like a very laborious process, especially considering the drying time of oils.
I was wondering why it is like this? So I asked myself a few questions and started researching the answers.
What is the purpose of doing so many layers of paint (i.e. Glazing)?
The main reason for layering oil paint is to achieve a mix of color tones that that can't be done by mixing the paints together on a palette. This comes from the transparency of the pigments themselves or a dry scumbling of the new layer. Obviously since this relates more to the pigment than the medium,
One can glaze with acrylics also, though. Acrylics tend to lend themselves more easily to glazing by the way the medium works as a vehicle for the pigments, and the use of water is not as much an issue as it is with thinned oils. Acrylic medium is more of a glue than is an oil binder. Glazed layers of pigment, however, tend to have a more jewel like appearance in oil than acrylics due to how light travels into the dry medium. Glazing with oils requires a sufficient drying time between layers so it lends itself to being done in a studio setting.
Oil paint glazing is an old technique. Most of the early use of oil paint was essentially monochrome tones that were then colorized. Glazing grew out of a tradition of using an egg tempera base that was then covered with thin layers of oil that allowed for easier blending and a stronger paint film. Eventually it became all oil paint, but they stuck with the same preliminary drawing and toning process for centuries. A more direct approach had been used for some time, but not for finished works, at least for the more academic schools of painting. It wasn't until the later part of the 19th century that a direct approach by itself for finished pieces became to get acceptance.
It turns out that many oil painters don't sketch on the canvas before they paint. Conversely, it is not uncommon for acrylic painters to sketch if they want to get a realistic style (say, vs abstract) or want to paint something specific.
There are brands of fast(er) drying oil paints available, if you are the impatient type. If impatience in waiting for oils to dry is your case, you might want to buy a tube of Cobra WMO (water mixable oil) to check it out. The Cobras appear to be the fastest drying WMOs.
I think I've found that one of the biggest differences between acrylics and oils is the use of medium. In oil painting, it is important to have your bottom layers thin/lean (less oil), and the upper layers more thick/fat (more oil).
Alla Prima is more difficult to do with oil paints because the oil paints take so much longer to dry. If you add acrylic paint to a still wet layer of acrylic paint, the colors mix together and look like mud.
Since the oil takes longer to dry, many oil painters will have several paintings going at the same time. This is so that at least one painting is dry ready to be painted on at any given time.
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