Why I Love Both Oil Painting and Watercolor: Two Mediums, One Creative Spirit
As an artist, I’m often asked whether I prefer watercolor or oil painting. It’s a fair question — after all, they seem to live on opposite ends of the artistic spectrum. Watercolor is light, fluid, and unpredictable, while oil is rich, buttery, and deeply forgiving. But for me, choosing between them feels like choosing between sunlight and moonlight — each has its own kind of magic.
Winter watercolor painting by artist Lindsay Godfrey
The Joy of Watercolor: Flow, Freedom, and Serendipity
Watercolor has always felt like a conversation with nature. The way pigment blooms in water, the way colors merge and separate, the way a single drop can transform an entire wash — it’s alive. There’s a freedom in letting go of control and allowing the paint to move and surprise you.
I love the immediacy of watercolor: the fresh, transparent layers, the luminous whites of the paper, and the quiet rhythm of brush, water, and pigment. Every painting feels like a meditation in letting go — a balance between intention and accident.
Early layers added to an oil painting by artist Lindsay Godfrey.
The Allure of Oils: Depth, Texture, and Patience
Oil painting, on the other hand, is a completely different kind of love. It invites me to slow down. I can layer, blend, and sculpt color in a way that feels tactile and deeply satisfying. The richness of oil paint — its texture, its slow drying time, its ability to hold light within its layers — gives each painting a sense of permanence and depth.
Watercolor birch trees and path in process but artist Lindsay Godfrey.
With oils, I can push and pull the paint until I find exactly the tone or form I want. There’s something grounding about the process, like building a world one brushstroke at a time.
The Best of Both Worlds
After much contemplation and research, it is clear that most artists find clarity in choosing one medium to pursue. I have tried unsuccessfully to choose between the two and more recently concluded that I don’t have to. In fact, it works well for me to paint in both mediums simultaneously. While one of my oil pieces is drying, I can turn to a watercolor — shifting from the slow, contemplative pace of oils to the spontaneous energy of watercolors.
There’s a wonderful balance that happens when I move between them. The patience required for oils makes me more thoughtful in watercolor, while watercolor’s looseness helps me keep my oils from becoming too rigid or overworked. The two media teach and inform me, each one strengthening my creative instincts for the other.
Artist Lindsay Godfrey adding the first layers oil paint to a canvas.
Two Mediums, One Artistic Journey
At their core, both watercolor and oil painting are about light — how it moves, reflects, and interacts with color. Whether it’s the translucent glow of watercolor or the luminous layers of oil, both offer infinite ways to express beauty, emotion, and atmosphere.
For me, painting in both mediums isn’t about choosing sides — it’s about embracing possibility. Exploring both watercolor and oil painting allows me to stay curious, challenged, and endlessly inspired as an artist.
If you’d like to see how these two worlds come together in my work, I invite you to explore my gallery. And if you’d love a peek behind the scenes — from works in progress to upcoming classes — join my artist newsletter (link below). It’s the best way to stay connected and inspired through every brushstroke.
