mattphilleo

One of the most important aspects of acrylic portrait painting is setting up your palette. It's often overlooked, but having a palette setup that works well for you can minimize frustration, increase

For acrylic portrait painters, and all artists, there is a truth we can't hide from: we can only paint as well as we can see. So, how well are we seeing in our art studios? Here's a question I got from

Sometimes as portrait artists, we are called to capture the memory of a lost loved one. It's a very special thing, a privilege that we given, to be able to do that for someone. I don't take it lightly.

​Hope you had a fantastic week. I'll be in Pittsville, WI and Friday and Saturday drawing live portrait sketches for the USSA (United Special Sportsman Alliance) Summerfest event. Many families of children

What do you do when your son stabs your painting with a spoon? This is the question I had to answer when a customer asked me if I could fix this painting. It was a special painting in his family, a

I live in a neighborhood where a lot of people pass away. Or maybe it's just that I've lived here so long, and I know my neighbors. Whatever the case, it gives me opportunities to do portraits. One of

If you're like me, printing off reference photos for painting a portrait is a major inconvenience. You have to run to the photo developer and get them printed off, hoping they turn out ok, then tape them

It's been a long time since I wrote on Steemit--over two weeks! I've missed being here. My family and I were on a camping trip to Waupaca, WI. It was held at Spencer Lake for our church's youth camp, where

Transitioning from your sketch in an acrylic portrait can be difficult. In this video tutorial, I want to show you how to set the stage for a painting with luminosity, by using light glazes. Glazes are

What is the best way to start an acrylic portrait? Do you just begin with a white canvas, and fully paint everything from left to right, as you would in a drawing? That's how I used to paint, until I learned

You have some time to paint over the weekend. You set up your reference photo, knock out a nice looking sketch, and then excitedly start to paint. But something happens. After a few layers, things start

Here is Chapter 5 of my original illustration work for author Karen Meyer. These drawings are 5 1/2" x 7," pencil on paper, for her children's book, The Young Man From India. I also edit them

Using a grid or tracing can be a great way for artists just starting out in portrait painting to create a lifelike, accurate sketch. It also can help skilled artists too to get their proportions a bit

My friends and I have been at our local university (UW-Eau Claire) on Wednesdays for the past couple months, sharing free pizza and the good news of Jesus Christ to as many as will receive it. It's not

I just finished a painting which will be on the cover of a new book by Russell Stendal, which will soon be published by Aneko Press. It's a book about the Gospel of John, and the miracles of Jesus, what

Here is the final commissioned portrait I've been working on--an 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas. It took me about 7 hours to paint, using the acrylic glazing technique. The Process, Step by Step

Here is Chapter 4 of my original illustration work for author Karen Meyer. These drawings are 5 1/2" x 7," pencil on paper, for her children's book, The Young Man From India. Chapter 1 Chapter

It's moving along, little by little. Today, I'm going to show you the next step in my portrait-- a commissioned acrylic painting, based off a freehand sketch of a photo. <<Previous Post Before: (Step

There’s nothing quite as difficult as painting wrinkles. There’s so many details and shapes to get right, and how do you shade them in? That’s what I want to answer in today’s post. The topic of wrinkles

Happy Friday! Today, I'm going to show you the next step in my portrait-- a commissioned acrylic painting, based off a freehand sketch of a photo. It's going to be a slow process, so bear with me. It's