Oil Paintings - What's the difference between prints and handmade oil paintings?

Question

I was looking at this site: http://www.overstockart.com and I noticed that they sell oil paintings and not prints, I thought that's cool, but how can you tell between a print on canvas and a handmade oil painting like the ones that are sold in http://www.overstockart.com?

Answer 1

the difference is day & nite. prints are run on a press on different weights of paper & they can make a lot of them, they can be open edition or they can make a limited edition, which should be self explanatory.with open meaning they could make a zillion if they wanted too. an oil painting is a one of a kind painting done with oils that a lot of people find hard to work with, the colors are mixed as the artists work & the colors are never the same , so that makes each one like an original painting, according to the artist( how well know ) is generally how high the price goes . sure hope this info has helped you.

Answer 2

Kermit is right! If you like the painting buy it! The medium is academic. Oils is oils and acrylics are different as is watercolour. You should look to see if the artist is doing the medium justice. Some artists do not exploit the full potential of the medium - they use the paint to put colour onto the surface and do not build the work on the basis of the medium's characteristics/unique qualities. Even with the same subject, a good watercolour, or oil or acrylic work should be distinctly different.

Answer 3

Well you can have a print of an oil painting but an oil painting is done on canvas and takes months to cure. Very good question

Answer 4

You can certainly tell when looking at the item itself. An oil painting will have texture, you will see the blobs of paint and the brush-strokes. A print will be perfectly smooth, like a photograph but on canvas instead of paper.

Answer 5

The difference is that in handmade oil painings you add all the colors together & mix n' after that you paint by that mixed oil.but in prints is not like this n' the printer mashine use the color oils one by one n' over on over,so the oils cover each other not be mixed with each other.

Answer 6

I found out mine was an original because the artist outlined the picture with a pencil, and the picture kind of fell inside the frame and there was the pencil marks. but mine is painted in water colors not oil. I pix flix it to a art gallery in maine and they said it was an original worth $600.00 wow I paid only a quarter for it at a flea market

Answer 7

A print is just that! a print uses ink to reproduce the image!

Answer 8

the texture. prints are always smooth and uniform because it's applied in a press.