Painting with Oils Over ACRYLICS (Great for All Levels)

[@philiptownsend4026]

Ive been looking for a long time for a clear and concise demonstration of this technique and you popped up in my feed this morning, so thank you. I have subscribed as I can learn a lot from you and you have so many videos which will be "up my street". Your calm, low key presentation style and soft voice is just what I like without all the shouty noise and distractions of some other youtube artists.

[@MalcolmDewey]

I'm happy to hear that Philip, thanks!

[@leesaunders5495]

I can see that starting with acrylics would be very helpful in terms of building further layers with oils. Many thanks

[@MalcolmDewey]

Absolutely!

[@beverlyglover-wood3247]

Nice, quick demonstration, Malcolm. Thank you! I loved the little painting.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Many thanks!

[@Yassou.96]

Amazing video! Thank you sir

[@joanl3115]

Thank you for sharing the unique concept (in my rather newbie self-teaching observation)! Beautiful image…you make it look easy but by the end, this unfolds as a magic trick.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Glad it was helpful! You can take the acrylics stage much further too. Makes the oils simpler for finishing touches.

[@ladym6738]

Yes, oils over acrylics; also pastels over thin background on acrylics. Works great. Layers. So happy to see your post this morning. Thank you.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you, exactly right ,😊

[@kamleshsunak3176]

Thank you Malcolm for this beautiful demo. I love your course - oil over acrylics.

[@natalykenny2069]

Absolutely love it!!! Looking forward to starting the course!❤❤❤❤

[@MalcolmDewey]

😊 thank you

[@susanmulholland296]

I just completed the painting from the course and posted it to Community. I really like the fast drying of the acrylics, a real time saver! The richness of the oils is great. I’m waiting for comments from the community. I made the door red and added 3 red rose bushes in place of 3 figures. Thanks for this very helpful course. Now onto Trees!

[@MalcolmDewey]

Great work Susan! Thank you for taking part.

[@vesnabreskvar9082]

Thanks for the Course,Malcolm,where this technique is described in even more detail. I've already tried and it's very good for me. I usualy use too much linseed oil while paint with oil ,but this way it's not necessary.The brush flows nicely over the prepared surface made with acrylic and toned for oil. I find this technique also suitable for easier and more successful painting on the larger formats.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thanks Vesna. Yes take a little more time preparing and it makes a big difference for us.

[@art-alchemy]

Hello Malcom, I am so happy you showed this technique. I use it before with success and I recently use it again. My classmates were surprised how much I got done with acrylics and kinda curious how I am laying over with oils. Like you I found certain oils to the exact match of the acrylics. Everything I do not paint over with oils I am going over it with an oil paint match so that it will all be completely in oils. I had to use this technique due to the weather change and I am using modeling paste before oils. Super happy I am doing it correctly thank you so much and yes people do get scared of oil paint. Maria

[@MalcolmDewey]

Excellent, glad this helps

[@mlynnartchannel3409]

Thank you for this video - I’ve been experimenting a little with oil paint over acrylic- this was very helpful 🎨🙂

[@MalcolmDewey]

It's a pleasure

[@tawengwamagada3932]

I know Malcolm you do it ,thank you with that inspiring video.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you too

[@kingfloyd4150]

Especially appreciate the comments re: bringing interest to your darks in foliage--was very helpful.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you, happy to hear that.

[@janicealderson4329]

I didn't have all the oil colours I needed and that's the reason I found this. A bit of a job, trying to do the style of my teacher for her portrait as a birthday gift. So I will be trying - thanks.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Good luck, Glad it was helpful!

[@PrincessAloeVera]

Good vid! Just remember everybody: if you have a nice oil primed (usually linen) canvas or panel, you have to use oils only.

[@christinegalysh7433]

Thank you and All the best

[@OrangeYouGladILikedIt]

Very helpful thank you ☺️

[@MalcolmDewey]

You’re welcome 😊

[@jazminalvarado8433]

Thank you :)

[@mariehillhouse559]

Thank you for very clear and practical advice. What type of masking tape are you using (blue in colour)?

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you. It is regular hardware store masking tape.

[@katelandsberry7980]

Hi there thank you for the fabulous demonstration! When you switched to oils - which I haven't used for decades - you didn't use any medium with them? I currently have paintings so I'm doing in acrylic but I really want to try the richness of oils which I have but have not used. So can I just use them without any medium? To get a similar sort of result that you did with your lovely Landscape. Thank you.

[@MalcolmDewey]

Absolutely - mediums are only a last resort if the paint is stubborn to work. Then, only a few drops of linseed oil are necessary. Better to use paints that are soft from the tube with bristle brushes - then you should be good to go. No solvents are required either. Linseed oil and above and warm water and soap to clean the brushes.

[@TrudieTiger70]

Awesome. So beautiful. Love the colors. I don’t know how you kept adding color to painting w same brush changing colors. It didn’t get muddy. Also is this a paper you are painting on? If so do you gesso it before painting. Thank you

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you! I do wipe the brush every few brushstrokes to keep colors clean. It is Arches paper for Oils so no priming required, Regular paper does need gesso.

[@yeshuaiscomingbackrepent2357]

I have done oil paint sticks over an acrylic painting I was not pleased with. It had much texture and could not simply paint over and start over. The painting turned out to be one of my favorites! I am glad I did not toss the canvas in the trash...but gave oils over acrylic a chance, I am glad I did!

[@MalcolmDewey]

I have yet to try oil paint sticks - must do so one day.

[@yeshuaiscomingbackrepent2357]

@@MalcolmDewey Oh yes! Sennelier is what I used! They are so easy to be creative with! They are a bit pricey, but very much worth it when you can salvage a painting! 😁Also, obviously they can be used completely by themselves! So much fun! Have a blessed day!

[@sandrajones8789]

If oils are used over the acrylics how long does it take to dry before adding varnish?

[@MalcolmDewey]

I can say drying time is normal, but that depends on your climate conditions, ventilation etc. For me it is ready to use retouch varnish about ten days later (warm climate). The big benefit is that layers of oils is reduced which helps speed up drying time.

[@elmyelmy5214]

So when acrilycs are dried you can just add oils with no mediums, right out of the tube?

[@MalcolmDewey]

Yes you can if you like using a good amount of paint. Another option though is to wipe the dry surface with linseed oil based medium. Wipe off the excess. This makes painting thinner oils easier.

[@jamesmeyer1325]

When I first tried Golden HB acrylics, I found that they would start drying on the palette before I could even create a sketch, like about 10 minutes. When you do these demos, the paint seems to remain wet enough to complete a small painting. How do you keep the paints from drying so fast? It doesn't look like you are using a retarding or other medium.

[@MalcolmDewey]

True. I am mostly using Amsterdam acrylics for my demos, They do seem to last a long time. Perhaps they have something in their formulation?

[@zulkefliAbdulghani-e9d]

Wow sir very nice painting.i like you style.i still Always follow you channel. Sir can I use yellow ochre for tree , I use ultramarine blue ,yellow ochre and crimson red in my painting?

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you - Yes you can use ochre, but mix in some other color too. A little red to suggest warmth, blue or violet to suggest shade etc

[@zulkefliAbdulghani-e9d]

@@MalcolmDewey Thank you Malcom ,

[@jamesmeyer1325]

Malcolm, I have another question for painting oils over acrylics. I like to work fast and am using alkyd oils because they dry fast compared to traditional oils. I'd like to use acrylics for a base layer because they dry even faster, but Golden advises waiting at least 3 days their Heavy Body acrylics to dry before painting over them with oils. Many artists seem to ignore this and paint right over the acrylics almost immediately. How long do you wait for the acrylics to dry before starting with oils? BTW, I love your videos and watch them almost every day!

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you. Usually within a couple of hours. Sooner if conditions are dry and warm. The acrylic layer is thin so dries very quickly. Do a touch test and see if color comes off. Golden are talking about a multi-layered painting with impasto and so on.

[@mona2242]

Interesting Malcolm, however didn’t quite get when you used water, did you use it right from the start of the painting process ? . ..Btway, I have a few acrylics I want to toss but now I will definitely try the oils over them . My questions is: Should I sandpaper my acrylic painting first before adding the oils? Thank you! 😊

[@MalcolmDewey]

Thank you. I may wet the brush at the start, but I try to only use the water to occasionally wash the brush. Avoid diluting your acrylics with water. Mostly just wipe the brush with tissue much like with oils. They are ready to use out of the tube. There are limited needs for water, like glazing, but most of the time use them as they are. No need to sandpaper the acrylic. Oils go on just fine. I also teach how to lightly glaze the dry acrylics if you want to paint a finer layer of oils.

[@mona2242]

@@MalcolmDewey Thank you ☺️ y much appreciated