The preferred medium of the Old and Not-So-Old Masters, oil painting offers superior versatility of color use, composition, style and form. As well it affords un-surpassed permanence and can be applied to a large range of surfaces from canvas to cardboard (several impressionist masterpieces -- e.g., some of Van Gogh's, Degas' and Toulouse-Lautrec's better compositions -- are on cardboard: see Impressionism). Many contemporary artists regard the need for solvents and slow drying time as oil disadvantages. They opt for acrylics or water soluble oils. Both afford rapid drying and are technically simpler. Dr. Brown used traditional oils.