Refers to the medium or technique of painting with oil-based paints, as well as the resulting artwork.
He likes to paint landscapes in oils.
This oil painting is a 19th-century work.
He painted the still life in oils.
This portrait was finished in oil paint.
油彩 uses oil-based paints, while 水彩 uses water-based paints, making them the two basic contrasting painting media.
油彩 is a Western oil-painting technique, while 日本画 refers to traditional Japanese-style painting using mineral pigments, so the two are easily confused as general 'painting' terms.
Compound of 油 (oil) and 彩 (coloring, painting), referring to the technique of using oil-based paints.