painting...acrylics Vs Oils

Jane put it quite well. But my pic would be oils because I think they look more real, there is a richness that is not there in the acrylic. Oils are more cleaning, but so what, if you enjoy them. I agree with Jane as well about her analogy to learning to drive with a stick. I learn to drive with a stick and I learn to paint with oils. I use to get amazed with people that couldn't drive a stick or were afraid to try and the same with the paints, people that I've known that start with acrylics seem afraid to try oils. But I see now how that happens. (does that make sense, must be tired)
Happy Painting!!!

i paint both oil and acrylic. They lend themselves differently but one is not better than the other. There are products out there that make acrylics dry slower and therefore mimic oils, but in reality, it doesn't work out that great. Oils open drying time lends itself to realism, landscape, and more representational styles. There are more products, toxic chemicals, and way more clean up up with oils, but the color is more saturated and rich than acrylic and you can blend, and work slow, no rush. Often with acrylic I have to work a section like a mad woman to get the effect and blending before it dries. Oil maintains textures and brush stokes when dry so you can get a more painterly look.
Acrylic drys quickly and so its not a paint that lends itself to blending, so realism and other representational styles can be a real pain with acrylic and you may mistake yourself as a bad artist or bad at landscape when in reality, its just the paint. Acrylic does not retain much texture and dries flat. loosing almost all brush strokes. However, you can do some really cool things with it that you cannot do with oils. It has a versatility that oil just does not to achieve a range of effects. For example, you can work really flat and wet and let the paint drip off the canvas leaving textural steaks.
There is much less clean up with acrylic and so its easier in some respects. However I would say that its kind of like learning to driving a car. Its better to learn stick then no problem with an automatic. But those who learn on automatic are intimidated and often never learn to drive stick. If you start with oil, you will have no problems going to acrylic. But those who started in acrylic often feel too intimidated to try oil. They are night and day in what you can achieve.
A lot of people think acrylic is cheaper (and oz for oz it is), but you will blow through and waist a ton of acrylic paints because of the fast drying. You can use much less oil paint.

But if you have to decide one or the other, i say try oil for the reason that it will allow you to explore more styles which is something you really need to figure out as a painter-your style.

FYI my profile pic is in acrylic.

I took a class a long time ago and I remember the big difference was in drying time and texture. Oils have a lot more texture to what you can do with them, and they take a LOT longer to dry - like days. I don't know if there's a "better", they're just different. Have fun!

I like to use both, often in the same painting. The most important thing to remember is that oil paints don't really dry, they cure over time, and so you need a place the painting can sit for days, sometimes weeks depending on the thickness of the paint, before it is completely set.

I've done both.
There is something to be said for oils because of the layering affect you can get. However, brushes need to be pretty good quality and you need to clean them in things that are kind of harsh.
I find that with oils, there is more of a layering and building out of color.

Acrylics are good. They are often more user friendly for beginners. Clean up is easier.
Everyone finds their flare. There are some amazing water color artists although, in my opinion, water colors are quite difficult to get shading and light aspects. You have to have a knack for it and be patient for things to dry before moving ahead.
I think you should spend part of your money on a good instructional book that covers the different mediums for beginners. You need to know more about the materials you will be working with.
I think it's awesome you want to paint. You may have a real flair for it.
I took formal lessons and produced some wonderful paintings. But after a while, you find your own style and what mediums you prefer.
Art and how we make it is a very subjective thing.
You will find what works for you by trial and error. But, get a book about the basics and go from there.

Best wishes.

Acrylics are much easier to clean up, and they don't come with the fumes that oils and turpentine have. If I were you I'd start with the acrylics; then, when you're happy with what you're doing, if you want to try oils, then save up for that equipment. (It will be an investment.) Have you ever thought about watercolors? There are lots of ways to paint, and each way has its own advantages.

Having praised acrylics, I also like what Jane has written about oils. (I couldn't handle the fumes after a while, but you may not have any problem.)

When you go to Michael's (hooray for the coupon!), ask an employee to recommend paints for you, and look for quality brushes. There are various kinds of brushes for various media. You might even ask if they have painting classes at the store; if not, see if there's an art school or adult center near you. Have fun!

And don't be afraid to try to be representational. Pretend you're from Mars and don't know what the thing is you're painting - just paint what you think it looks like. Since you're not being graded, you can just enjoy.

I have used both.

Acrylic dries very fast. They are versatile and easy to use, great for beginners. Not much to do blending and layering wise, so most landscape type photos are going to be oils.

Oils are awesome, rich, full of texture, but you need special primers to prep your canvas, special tools aside from the regular paintbrush, special agents to clean. They have fumes so you need lots of ventilation. They dry very slowly, if you make a mistake, it's easy to blend it away.

The effect painting really varies with oils and acrylics. I would play around with acrylics a little longer if I were just beginning. And in the meantime, I would get an oil painter beginner book and study it a little bit before going and getting all the tools and such.

Lots of oil painting for beginners websites out there:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ppwl&cp=11&am...

The short answer if you haven't time to read the rest of my response here is to stick with Acrylic.

You are right to ask this question now because they are as different as cheese and chalk. Acrylic being the chalk, oil being the cheese. Acrylic dries too quickly, Oil doesn't dry quickly enough. Both can be frustrating until you get the hang of it.

You have to acknowledge that by developing very different techniques. Once you are proficient in one medium you will find it hard to switch to the other. Mastering technique takes a long time and when accomplished, you do a lot of things on 'auto pilot' without thinking. Switch and suddenly nothing works as it should.

Both media have the advantage of being able to overpaint your mistakes, so experimental learning is easier and quicker - especially with Acrylic. Remember it's only the same as emulsion house paint only slightly more refined. As someone has said it is much more manageable and less messy for being water soluble (until it's dry!) Oil can be a sticky nightmare and output is down awaiting drying time, which is why oil painters have several canvases in progress concurrently.

Lots of people start with watercolours because they seem less intimidating. There's an irony! Watercolour is the hardest medium to master because it relies on translucent washes often laid subtly over one another. Any error is sudden death and condemns your work to the bin. You can't overpaint watercolour mistakes, because if you try, that spontaneous freshness and wonderful control disappears and can never be re-captured.

Keep in mind you can use pure out of the tube Acrylic as watercolour by diluting it with water to apply translucent washes. Then if you make a mistake you can overpaint it completely by adding medium to make it fully opaque.

Good luck. Painting is wonderful for calming your nerves and fraying your temper depending on how it goes!

use google to search on this question for more info. My mom paints and I seem to remember that oils were a pain to clean up - turpentine was involved.

You've already gotten such good responses I don't think I can add anything different, except...I didn't see anyone mention that Michael's has one of those free member cardholder things where you give them your email address and they will send you coupons through email or sometimes there are member specials and you just swipe your member card at the store and get a discount. Best of luck to you, and whichever you decide just keep painting! :D

Acrylics.
Oils... uses combustive chemicals. And it has fumes. And its harder to clean up after and to clean your brushes.
If you have kids... I would use Acrylics.
Acrylics, are very versatile and dries faster as well.

I grew up painting. With all mediums on all sorts of materials.
My parents, were painters as well as my relatives.

It is not a matter of which is better.
It is 2 entirely different, mediums.
Of which, even the Pro Artists, use... MANY mediums.

I love the rich texture and intense colors of oil paint. I love that they don't dry quickly, and I can work on a canvas for a longer time. As you can see from the responses, we all have our own preferences. You should try both and figure out which medium feels right for you.
That said, please remember, especially with kids around, that professional pigments and solvents can be highly toxic, particularly the cadmium colors.

I intensely dislike oils and greatly prefer acrylics. The initial textures seem similar, but they work differently and blend differently. I don't like the odor of oils, I don't like the canvas for oils, and I don't like the brushes or cleaning supplies. Acrylics are "cleaner" to me. They work more easily, they dry more nicely, the materials all around are easier to work with, they smell better, and I find acrylics more "user friendly." What's also nice about acrylics is that you can also use them on different materials, not just canvas, and expect them to work pretty much the same way.

I learned old school, though, in high school and in college with painting as my major and minor before there was internet and only colleges used internal "intranets." :-) I had to buy my materials in art supply stores and got to see them and touch them before buying them and that's still my preferred method since I can ask for advice of the people that work in the store.

I would base it all on what is the least toxic way to go. Even if you paint when your kids aren't around - you don't want to be exposing yourself to unnecessary toxins. Do some research on this subject -- as your health should be the main deciding factor when choosing.

How wonderful. Painting is a wonderful treat. If you are going to paint at home, acrylics have the advantage of easy clean-up. They also dry faster, which makes developing colors a little more difficult, but they dry well.