Schematic of one painting using both media, after the Art Institute of Chicago's analysis of Lichtenstein: a field of dots done in oil through a stencil beside a flat color area in Magna solvent acrylic; some dots may hold both. Colors mark the medium, not the painting's colors.

History · Two Paints

Using Both

Oil and acrylic now share the studio, and sometimes the same canvas.

Tate reported in 2009 that acrylic paints and primers had been about half of artists' paint sales for 30 years. Painters who use both give each the job it does best.

  • Roy Lichtenstein's labels list oil and Magna; Art Institute of Chicago scientists found which is where.
  • Magna gave him fast-drying, flat color.
  • Through a metal stencil Magna dried too fast and stuck, so he used oil for the dots.

Image: Made for this site · Original work

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