The difference between watercolor and acrylics (or oil, which is similar to acrylics but dries more slowly and isn’t water soluble) are shown by these two paintings. Note the difference in transparency vs. opacity and delicacy vs. richness. In watercolor white is the white of the paper, because it’s transparent you can’t paint a light on top of a dark, and it’s hard to correct mistakes. Whereas in acrylics you can paint white on top of black and repaint endlessly. I’ve been painting watercolor for 20 years, but just started acrylics six months ago, and I love them both. Which do you prefer?
