How to Substitute Oil Paint for Acrylic Paint

Oil paint can be applied on top of acrylic paint, but the opposite is not true.

Perhaps you've begun a painting in acrylic and decided to switch to oil paint instead. Let's say you have a landscape you've begun in acrylics. You left home with your painting, planning to finish it in the area where you began. But you find you've accidentally brought a kit full of oil paints instead of the acrylics you were meaning to bring along. You don't have to turn around and retrieve your acrylic paints in order to continue the painting. Use those oil paints to complete your painting.

Things You'll Need

• Artist's canvas
• Oil paints
• Brushes
• Palette knife
• Palette
• Odorless paint thinner
• Rags
• Empty coffee cans

Instructions

1. Set up your canvas in a comfortable spot and arrange your paints on the palette in the manner that best suits you. You can paint on top of dry acrylic paint with oil colors, and the oil paint will adhere perfectly to the surface of your painting.

2. Mix your oil colors with your palette knife on the palette in the manner you mixed your acrylics when you started the painting.

3. Compare the color you're mixing on the palette with the color on the canvas that you're seeking to match. Mix the oil paint to match the acrylic hue as closely as possible. Coat your palette knife's blade with some of the oil paint you're mixing. Bring the palette knife close to the area of the canvas where you want to paint and visually compare your oil paint sample with that of the acrylic already laid down. If the color is an acceptable match, begin laying down color with a brush.

4. Complete the painting and transport it in an area that is contained, such as the back seat or trunk of your car. Oil paint takes sometimes weeks to dry, and you must avoid smudging the paint while transporting your canvas.

Tips & Warnings

• Lay down thin layers of oil paint first, and gradually build to thicker brushwork, if more textured paint suits your style.

• If you're not working outdoors, paint in a ventilated room that will allow toxic paint and paint thinner fumes to escape.

References

• "The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques, 5th Ed."; Ralph Mayer; 1991
• "Painter's Handbook"; Mark David Gottsegen; 2006