mattphilleo

Easy, Inexpensive Acrylic Artist's Palette

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...

How Do You Illuminate Your Art Studio?

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 ...

Step-by-Step Process of a Memoriam Portrait (Video Lesson)

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 t...

Live Drawings and a Giveaway

​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...

How to Fix a Stabbed Painting

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 wa...

How to Sketch a Portrait Freehand in 45 Minutes

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 ...

My New Invention: The Photo Reference Holder

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 o...

Our Extended "Off-Grid" Camping Trip

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 Sp...

[TUTORIAL] Acrylic Portrait--Initial Color Glazes

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 lumi...

Block in Colors and Values for an Acrylic Portrait

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 drawi...

What if you Lose the Likeness After Sketching?

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...

New Book Illustration Project, Chapter 5

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 M...

Sketch a Portrait in Acrylic Freehand

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 ar...

Free Pizza, Students and the Good News

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 Chris...

New Painting--Illustration of Jesus' Fire with Fish and Bread

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 Gospe...

8 x 10 Acrylic Commissioned Portrait, FINISHED!

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 techni...

New Book Illustration Project, Chapter 4

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 M...

8" x 10" Original Acrylic Portrait--BEFORE and AFTER (Step 4)

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...

[TUTORIAL] How to Paint Realistic Wrinkles in Acrylic

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 an...

8" x 10" Original Acrylic Portrait--BEFORE and AFTER (Step 3)

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...