Category Archives for Tips and Techniques
Step-by-Step Journey of Painting a Vibrant Acrylic Portrait
How do you paint an acrylic portrait that looks alive?
In this video, I share how I painted an 11″ x 14″ portrait of three beautiful children, using the classical glazing technique.
This is not a time-lapse video, but rather real-time snippets of my studio process, step-by-step, with explanations of what I’m doing. I share all the tips I can within about 20 minutes so that you can learn to paint an amazing acrylic portrait that you can give as a gift or even do for a living!
This tutorial shows the entire process of painting a portrait. Here are the steps I show in this tutorial:
- Sketch the portrait.
- Seal in the sketch.
- Block in the initial values
- Develop contrast, depth, and skin tones
- Add final nuances, details and finish.
Watch the video below and happy painting! 🙂
Of course, I always love to hear from you. Please let me know how this video helps.
Also, do you have a question about your portrait that I could answer for you? Let me know in the comments below!
Yours for Better Portraits,
If you found this post helpful or encouraging, would you send it on ahead? Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much!
How to Paint a Mustache in an Acrylic Portrait
Painting mustaches, beards, hair of any kind of acrylic painting can be tricky.
Capturing facial hair accurately is a very important part of making your portrait look realistic. Let me show you how to add detail to a mustache in an acrylic portrait in this quick video tutorial.
Let me know, in the comments, how this video helps!
What techniques have YOU used to paint mustaches and facial hair in your acrylic portrait?
Look forward to sharing more tips and tutorials with you.
Yours for Better Portraits,
If you found this post helpful or encouraging, would you send it on ahead? Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much!
Why You Shouldn’t Paint Teeth White in Your Acrylic Portrait
Let me show you how to instantly improve your acrylic portrait by changing one little thing.
Don’t paint the teeth white.
When I critique portraits for beginning artists, one of the things I often see is teeth that are white. It detracts from the realism. Let me show you why in this super quick video…
As you can see, teeth are darker value, and you can often achieve it by using a mixture of raw umber and titanium white for the shadows, raw sienna-titanium white for the mid-tones and titanium white-slight bit of indian yellow only for the highlights.
It all comes down to painting correct tonal value–that is, the correct level of light and dark. If you’d like a tool to help you with that, then I have something for you…
I created a tool that you can use to measure the tonal value of any area of your portrait in question against your reference photo. I call it the “Value Checker.” Download and print a copy for yourself today and apply it to the portrait you are currently working on. And you will see an immediate improvement in the realism!
Get the full-resolution 8 1/2″ x 11″ version below…
Get the Value Checker ToolLet me know how this helps! What did you think of this tip on NOT painting teeth white? Did it surprise you?
I’d love to hear how your art journey is going. Shoot me an email and let me know. Or leave a comment. Be blessed in your portrait painting!
Yours for Better Portraits,
Matt
If you found this post helpful or encouraging, would you send it on ahead? Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much!
Quick Tip to Set Up a Canvas in Your Easel
Have you ever been frustrated trying to paint the edges of your canvas on an acrylic portrait, because the easel clamps are in the way?
You try to paint the background smoothly, with gestural strokes that flow off the edge of the painting but are inhibited by the easel itself. Let me show you a quick tip to overcome that problem.
How do YOU keep your paintings in place on your easel, and yet make it possible to paint all edges easily? Let me know. Always on the lookout for good ideas. 🙂
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!
4 Questions About Acrylic Portrait Painting, Answered
Recently, I was asked some questions about acrylic portrait painting. I hope the answers I shared with this artist can be of help to you as well.
1. How do you prepare your canvas panel for painting with Acrylics?
Sanding a canvas panel in preparation for painting an acrylic portrait
2. You spoke of layering your paint when composing a portrait. Please briefly explain.
I use the glazing technique to slowly bring the portrait from a white canvas to completion. The glazing technique is achieved by mixing your paint with clear acrylic medium (usually matte medium) to disperse the pigment, thus allowing light to pass through.
Although you could use water, it’s not recommended, because it breaks down the acrylic resin binder, causing a rough visual texture and possible poor adhesion. For a smoother look, you want to use clear acrylic medium.
Custom commissioned realistic acrylic portrait from a photo painted by Eau Claire area artist Matt Philleo, ©2019 Fine Art by Matt Philleo
3. You mentioned using a Prismacolor pencil for making your diagram. What color do you recommend?
Using colored pencil for your acrylic portrait sketch makes things a lot easier. Technique discovered and developed by Matt Philleo.
4. Do you do the painting from start to finish in one setting?
Acrylic portrait artist Matt Philleo posing in front of a 48″ x 72″ commission painting for a client in Brunei
I hope these questions and answers were helpful to you as well. I know some of this stuff seems pretty basic, but it’s good for all of us to pause and think about why we do what we do. It then makes the doing that much more significant.
Let me know if you have any questions of your own about acrylic portrait painting and I’ll do my best to help!
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!
Paint Realistic Reflections on Eyeglasses in an Acrylic Portrait
It’s tricky to paint reflections on eyeglasses.
But it’s a very important detail in an acrylic portrait where the subject is wearing them and you want it to look realistic. Let me show you how to do it, using the acrylic glazing technique, in this quick video tutorial.
This is a 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas commissioned portrait, and I just delivered it to the client today. She loved it. It was a memoriam portrait, so I pray it will bring comfort to all who see it.
Have a blessed day, and may God use your artistic gifts to bless people far and wide.
All the best,
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 Much Should You Charge for a Portrait?
One question I’m asked again and again is, “How much should I charge for a portrait?”
I was asked this question twice in the last two days, so I figure it would be good to answer this in an article.
As a professional portrait painter, I know that what I charge for my portraits affects my bottom line. If I don’t charge enough, I don’t make enough money to keep painting. If I charge too much, I might price myself out of the market.
Practical tips on how to price your acrylic portrait painting
You may be asking the same thing? What should you do?
There are many factors in pricing.
It depends how long you have been in business, the level of quality of your work, and how much detail will be in your portrait. I charge by the square inch. I have a pricing formula that I came up with where the price increases exponentially as you increase the size of the painting and add more detail (subjects)
Here is what I charge (as of 2019). I can’t say that it will work for you. (Please, DO NOT copy my prices. I am showing it just as an example. )
Acrylic Portrait from photo, commissioned paintings by Eau Claire portrait artist Matt Philleo, 2019 prices
A 16 x 20 with one person—I charge $850 for that. If there are 5 or more subjects (people, objects, detailed backgrounds, etc. ) in the portrait I charge $2,100. The reason I charge more is that it will take longer to paint all the extra detail.
But I have been painting for many years and my prices were less than half this amount when I started out painting portraits full-time, in 2014. Here is my price chart for that year.
Portraits from a photo, acrylic portrait by Eau Claire portrait artist Matt Philleo, 2014 prices
You can see my prices have almost doubled since 2014. And amazingly, at that time, I was struggling to get even one commission! I remember praying every day for a month for a commission, after doing all I knew to do to bring in some work. God did provide one eventually, but I need to learn to trust in Him and be patient. That’s a story for another day. 🙂
The point I’m trying to make is that charging less for your work does not equate to more sales. When I first started I thought I was going well to make minimum wage. That was foolish, because we aren’t painting 100% of the time and we have materials and marketing costs. My wife encouraged me to raise my prices. I was scared to, but it didn’t hurt my business at all. I have been raising them slowly, about 10-20% every year.
So, then, should you charge more at the onset and just watch the sales roll in?
No. It doesn’t work that way either. Charge a fair price for your work, be patient, keep doing portraits, don’t give up when it’s tough, and you will see the results. Raise your prices over time as you build up your clientele.
I try to get paid $50 an hour on my portraits. ( I don’t charge by the hour. This is what I average on my projects.)
Figure out what you’d like to get paid per hour. Then charge approximately 50% more because, as I mentioned earlier, you won’t be painting all the time (you’ve got other business-y things to do) and you have paint and brushes to buy.
Here are some more helpful tips in pricing your art.
1. First of all, create a price chart as I did. This is HUGE. Going to a client meeting to discuss a portrait without a price chart in hand is like going to a smorgasbord buffet line without a plate in hand. It’s going to be messy.
With a price chart all you need to do is ask your client what size they would like–roughly–and then show them a couple of options. You should know how many people will be in the portrait. You simply show them the chart and say, “an 16 x 20 with two subjects will be this much, and a 24 x 30 will be this.” You point to the prices and let the chart do the work.
Let them decide what they want.
There are no negotiations on the price. Because the client sees you have a precise criterion for what you charge—it makes sense—they will not quibble with your price. I can’t recall a time that’s ever happened to me.
Interestingly, I do remember a time when I negotiated my own price down. I offered my client a price that was lower than what I originally quoted. She took the lower price but looked at me strangely and the whole situation was awkward. And I needlessly lost money on the job. Ouch.
Don’t do what I did in that situation.
Quote your price and hold to it. Let them respond.
How to successfully price your portrait paintings
2. Then, once you have the client locked in on a price, encourage them to pay a down deposit on the spot. If you just give them a business card and let them walk away, chances are, you’ll lose the commission. Of course, if they need to discuss it with another decision maker, that’s fine. But get their phone number or email address so you can follow up with them.
Most of the time, however, they’ll be ready to make a decision if they indeed want a portrait, and not just merely curious.
You can tell them you need the deposit so that you’ll have them booked. That way you can get to their portrait faster.
A deposit is also very important because, with it, the client has “skin in the game.” They’re not as likely to back out of the project.
How much should you ask for a deposit? I ask for 25% up front. Some do 50. But I like 25, because it’s a little less risk for the client to take on, and it also gives me more incentive to finish the project. I get paid a larger amount at the end.
3. Never charge people more because you think they are rich, or less because you think they are poor. Just charge what you charge. Have a size for any budget. The price chart is your best friend. Then you can always point people to your price list and let it do the selling for you.
4. Don’t compete on price. It may be helpful to see what other artists are charging to gauge what you might be able to charge, but don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to beat other artists’ prices. You’re not Walmart. You’re an artist. People will purchase art from you, because they know, like and trust you. They appreciate your unique style, your experience, personality, your connection to them, and that’s a big part of why they will buy from you. So as long as they can technically afford your prices, they will pay them, even if Joe Artist down the street has prices 50% less than you.
5. Never deliver your painting without payment in hand. If you meet with the client personally to deliver the painting, let them know beforehand that you would like to exchange payment for the finished product on the spot. If you are shipping the painting, show them a proof image of the portrait. Once they approve it, ask for the balance to paid in full (along with shipping charges.) When they make payment, then promptly ship the artwork.
That’s it! Of course, there’s more nuances than this to pricing your work, but this article should give you some good information on how to do it, if you’re just starting out in acrylic portrait painting.
Let me know how this helps.
If you are an artist who does commissioned portraits, do you have any tips to share on how YOU price your work? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. 🙂
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!
Oval Vignette Acrylic Portrait Timelapse
It’s fun to paint a portrait using the acrylic glazing technique. Although it takes a little longer, it allows you the ability to build up some fantastic depth, color saturation, and shading.
In this painting I did toward the end of 2018, actually two 14″ x 20″ oval vignette bubble portraits, I demonstrate how the glazing technique works, in about nine minutes. If you would like to see the process, at a slower pace, with explanations of my technique, check out this post here.
And now for the 9-minute timelapse video…
Let me know how you enjoyed this video and if you have any questions on acrylic portrait painting, I’ll be happy to help.
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 I Painted Two Bubble Frame Oval Acrylic Portraits, Step-by-Step
“How is my portrait project coming along?”
“Um, I haven’t even started it yet.”
“Oh. Could you do another one and get it done for me by Christmas?”
“Let me check. Sure.”
This is kind of how the conversation went when a client called me on a portrait project that I had scheduled out for a few months. I was backed up with commissions, and it was already well into December.
Do another portrait when I was already behind? Why not? I thrive on a little deadline pressure. I’ve got an extra reserve of midnight oil 🙂
So here are the portraits I created, two convex-oval 14″ x 20″ acrylic on canvas paintings. I decided to work on both at once. And I got them both done in time, too, by God’s grace!
Two oval acrylic portraits painted on vintage convex bubble frame prints, original custom portrait painted from photos for Steve Kristo, by Matt Philleo, Eau Claire artist, ©2018 Fine Art by Matt Philleo
And now I want to show you how I painted them. I’ll take you through the process from the colors I select for the palette, the first few layers, all the way to the completed painting.
How I Painted These Oval Vintage Acrylic Portraits
This tutorial is a work in progress, so I’ll be adding more videos in the future!
Keep in touch and I’ll let you know when I post the next one!
Let me know how this tutorial helps!
Have you ever painted on an oval canvas or unusual surface before? If so, leave a comment and tell me about it. Have a blessed day!
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!
Why These Portraits Won the Contest
It is my privilege every week to judge entries for the Realistic Acrylic Portrait School Facebook Contest.
The best 5-6 images get chosen to be included on the Header Image of our 6,000+ member group. But why do I choose the portraits that make it to the top?
In this brief video, I’ll go over the reasons why I awarded these portraits the prizes they received. I also discuss what could be done to improve them.
You can learn from these tips on what makes for a good portrait and how to improve your own.
Also, if you aren’t currently a member of the Realistic Acrylic Portrait School Facebook group (it’s free to join), you should be! Here’s why…
- Get help on your portrait from myself and fellow artists when you feel stuck.
- Share your artwork with others and get inspired to paint more, by seeing what your fellow artists are doing.
- Enter a portrait into the weekly contest, get your work featured, and win a prize!
Join the Realistic Acrylic Portrait School Facebook Group
See you inside the group! Let me know how these tips help, and of course, if you have any questions.
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!