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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GaleriaGila, post: 138835, member: 993&quot;]This question comes up now and then.&nbsp; For instance, Johnny just posted a thread about a painting of his.&nbsp; I found&nbsp; my answer to be rambling and non-definitive, so I would greatly appreciate if some of you brainiacs would share.&nbsp; Since I only actually DEAL in my own art, I of course KNOW what materials I use!&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>How do YOU tell?</p><p><br /></p><p>Here&#039;s how I tell, or try to.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oils.&nbsp; If the artist did not prime the canvas, you can see oily patterns from the reverse.&nbsp; With luck, you can smell it... if you&#039;re guessing it&#039;s older than 1960s or so, and it has that oil-looking texture, I would figure it to be oil (not acrylic) even if I can&#039;t smell it.&nbsp; Sometimes, if you heat a hidden area with a warm-water q-tip, it revives the oil smell. Just what does oil smell like?&nbsp; Go sneak a sniff at an art store, if you aren&#039;t sure, or smell a few paintings you KNOW are oil.&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, oil usually seems to have a more glowing finish than acrylic.&nbsp; If it&#039;s cracked, it&#039;s almost certainly oil, in my mind. </p><p><br /></p><p>Acrylics.&nbsp; They have a smell too.&nbsp; It, too, can be revived by the Q-tip thing.&nbsp;&nbsp; Since acrylics dry so quickly, there are often more layers and build up than oil, while oils lend themselves to lots of blending and shading.&nbsp;&nbsp; I&#039;m told that a q-tip with alcohol will take up color when rubbed on acrylic, whereas oil will not.</p><p><br /></p><p>Pastels... well... they just LOOK like pastel.</p><p><br /></p><p>Watercolor... LOOKS like watercolors.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gouache... can be tricky... people put different binders and stuff in, and they can fool you... ME.&nbsp; I guess I imagine watercolors on steroids, and that might be gouache.&nbsp; Sometimes, a painting (like Johnny&#039;s) completely defies me... it could be acrylic or oil or gouache, or maybe even something else!</p><p><br /></p><p>Pen and ink... easier...</p><p><br /></p><p>Pencil...&nbsp; pretty obvious.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then there are the mixed media things... hand-tinted photographs, acrylic/oil mixed paintings... enhanced prints... more, I&#039;m sure.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks for reading, and ESPECIALLY for sharing!!!!</p><p><br /></p><p>xo</p><p>Gila[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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