Category Archives for New Art

How to Add the Finishing Touches to an Acrylic Portrait

How to Add the Finishing Touches to an Acrylic Portrait

Finishing a portrait is challenging yet incredibly satisfying.

In this video, I’ll show you how I finished this 24″ x 30″ portrait of 30 people. I’m adding highlights with some warmer colors to give the painting some more visual impact. That’s what it’s all about—”bringing the portrait home” and making the customer happy!

 

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

30-Minute Acrylic Portrait: Thoughtful Man in White

30-Minute Acrylic Portrait: Thoughtful Man in White

Back to doing another 30-minute acrylic portrait, where I paint an Alla Prima portrait in about half an hour.

This can be a quick portrait study, or become an underpainting for a more refined portrait. I encourage you to try one! You can use this an example if you’d like. 

In this video tutorial, I’ll be painting a middle-aged man wearing a white T-shirt. I love the strong contrast on his face, illuminated by the sunlight, the cast shadows on his clothing, and the thoughtful expression. Get your paint and brushes, and paint along with me!

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

 

 

How to Do Shading and Skin Tones on Small Faces

How to Do Shading and Skin Tones on Small Faces

Having trouble shading and toning small faces?

It can be challenging to balance depth and realism without overwhelming delicate features.

Watch my free video tutorial on how to do shading and skin tones on small faces.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

 

How to Add Highlights to Background Trees in Your Acrylic Portrait

How to Add Highlights to Background Trees in Your Acrylic Portrait

How do you get rid of the pencil lines from the sketch? We’ll cover that too. 

In this video, I’ll show you how to add highlights and depth to the background of your portrait, especially if it’s trees.

Specifically, we will be diffusing the edges of the tree line and blending it into the sky. 

Let me show you how to do it, in this real-time tutorial video, with explanations of what I’m painting and why.

 

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

How to Block in Dark Values on a Chiaroscuro Acrylic Painting

How to Block in Dark Values on a Chiaroscuro Acrylic Painting

I’d like to share with you the next step on the Caravaggio-style painting I did of Paul the Apostle praying…adding in the dark values.

Last time, we finished up with the grisaille and white detail work on top.

So now that we have the mid-tone and highlights, the next step is to increase the contrast by adding in the dark values. And it builds on top of that structure.

Watch my free video tutorial to learn more about how to block in dark values on a chiaroscuro acrylic painting.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

How to Convert a Tracing to Sketch

How to Convert a Tracing to Sketch

What do you do when you have to trace a portrait for a painting? Do you want to dive into the painting?

It’s not so easy. Let me illustrate, with this illustration of a book cover, why it is important to turn your tracing into sketches.

This is worth spending extra time to prepare for the painting process.

How to Convert a Tracing to a Sketch, Part #2

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

Yours for Better Portraits,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

How to Paint Foliage Using the Acrylic Glazing Technique

How to Paint Foliage Using the Acrylic Glazing Technique

How do you paint people are standing in front of trees and other foliage?

As portrait painters, we are often asked to paint images where people are standing in front of trees and other foliage. What colors do you use to paint them? What kind of brushes and what techniques does it take to make it look realistic?

Watch my tutorial to learn more about how to paint foliage using the acrylic glazing technique.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

First Steps of Painting Trees and Grass in Your Acrylic Portrait

First Steps of Painting Trees and Grass in Your Acrylic Portrait

 It’s important to know how to paint greenery in your acrylic portrait.

You’ll probably be asked to do it at some point or just desire to, because it’s in your reference photo and looks beautiful! Let me show you how to it, using the acrylic glazing technique, in this video. I also have a step-by-step process you can follow, below. 🙂

How to Paint Foliage (Trees, Grass, Shrubs, etc) in the Background of Your Acrylic Portrait

1. Sketch in the major dark value (shadow) shapes first.

2. Go over those shapes with a glaze of raw umber dark, ultramarine blue and a bit of raw sienna (less chromatically intense mixture)

3. Apply a glaze of phthalo blue, raw sienna, and Indian yellow over the entire area of foliage (this will be your mid tone)

4. Bridge the shadows into the mid tone by using a color that is a mix of steps 2 and 3, and overlapping out of the boundaries of the shadows.

5. Continue adding more layers like this, and finally add highlights using phthalo blue, titanium white and indian yellow Keep in mind the actual color mixture might vary based on the specific kind of foliage you are painting, the lighting scenario (is it sunlit or cloudy) and how far away the foliage is. Remember, cool colors recede, warmer colors come forward. Foliage that is far away will usually be lighter in value and more bluish in color.

Watch my tutorial to learn more about what would be the first steps of painting trees and grass in your acrylic portrait.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

 

Blocking In Skin Tone Values Using the Glazing Technique

Blocking In Skin Tone Values Using the Glazing Technique

 Skin tones can be challenging, as all portrait artists know.

But I’ve discovered that using micro-layers of acrylic, diluted with matte medium, can really help you to build up volume on your faces as you paint. Skin tones and values go hand-in-hand. You always want to be thinking about tonal value (the range of how light and dark a color is) BEFORE you apply it. Then, you want to make sure you apply it in the right place on your face that you’re painting.

Watch my free video tutorial to learn more about the blocking in skin tone values using the glazing technique.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

 

How to Easily Transition from a Sketch to a Painting

How to Easily Transition from a Sketch to a Painting

Once they apply paint, many artists struggle with losing proportions and likeness in their sketch. I want to help you with that.

If you’re new to the acrylic glazing technique or have never heard of it before, let me introduce you to it. I’ll show you how to use it to slowly, predictably transition from your sketch into a painting. Without the frustration! This video is about how to make the transition from a sketch to a painting look realistic. It features step-by-step instructions and techniques that are helpful for beginner and experienced artists alike.

Watch my tutorial to learn more about how to easily transition from a sketch to a painting.

LEARN MORE

Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.

 

If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.

Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me.  I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.  

 

Yours for Better Portraits,

Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!

 

 

 

1 3 4 5 6 7 12