Oil Paintings | Contemporary Abstract Art by Ritu Raj

My shift from acrylic to oil painting has been more than a change in medium—it has been a transformative evolution in how I create, perceive, and connect with my work as a contemporary abstract artist. Oil paint introduced me to a new language. Its slow-drying, buttery texture asked me to slow down, to linger, and to be fully present with each mark.

Where acrylics offered speed and spontaneity, oils invited patience, intention, and trust in the unfolding process. Moving from acrylic to oil felt like shifting from a sprint to a dance—each stroke more deliberate, more felt, and deeply embedded in the moment of creation.

This transition wasn’t easy. Oils required learning new techniques: wet-on-wet blending, luminous glazing, and subtle color shifts. The extended drying time, layered approach, and solvents demanded a recalibration of how I approached painting. But in return, oils revealed possibilities I hadn’t known existed—allowing depth, atmosphere, and emotional resonance to emerge with greater sensitivity.

Oil painting has deepened my emotional relationship with the act of painting itself. It slows me down in the best way, mirroring the contemplative energy I hope to evoke in my abstract work. Each piece becomes not only an exploration of color and form but also an exploration of presence and transformation.

This journey into oil is not a departure from acrylic, but an expansion of possibility. A return to the essentials: time, texture, emotion, and the quiet power of being.