Uncategorized – Realistic Acrylic Portrait School

How Color Theory Works with Acrylic Glazing

/ Uncategorized
/ By Matt Philleo

Which is more vibrant—glazing or opaque?

Find out as I do a color wheel using those two different techniques.

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,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it in 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!

3 Myths About Portrait Painting—BUSTED

/ Tips and Techniques Uncategorized Video Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo

Did you know that there are common ideas of people about portrait painting?

There are three common ideas people have about portrait painting. Are they true? I’ll show you these ideas, and bust them, one by one. 🙂

It’s my goal that, in busting these myths, you’ll be set free to paint a portrait you can be proud of. Enjoy!

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Techniques for Painting Realistic Trees & Landscapes in Acrylic

How do you paint trees and landscapes?

In this video demonstration for my student Diane’s portrait (with a big landscape background), I paint the background and midground trees. I’ll show you what colors to use (and why), how to mix the paint with matte medium for the glazing technique, how to use the brush for maximum blending effects, and a whole lot more!

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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,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it in 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!

5 Tips to Draw Better Pencil Portraits

/ Uncategorized
/ By Matt Philleo

Do you want to learn how to draw a pencil portrait?

Many artists struggle with pencil portraits and making them look realistic. In this video, I’ll show you five tips to instantly improve your portrait drawings.

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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,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it in 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 Fix a Painting on Canvas with a Hole in It!

It’s something all artists dread: getting a hole torn in your canvas. Sooner or later, it’s probably going to happen to one of your paintings.

But what do you do? Is the canvas ruined?

Nope. You don’t have to throw the painting away or relegate it to the closet. I’ll show you how to fix it, step-by-step.

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

1 small piece of canvas

Matte medium

Gloss medium

Scissors

Utility knife blade

Plastic sheet

Weights

Foam or wood board

Acrylic paint

DISCLAIMER: Use the knowledge in this video at your own risk. I cannot be held responsible for any painting that is damaged further in the process of utilizing this repair method. But I will say it has worked well for me!

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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,

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!

Increase the Contrast in Your Portrait With My SECRET Color

/ Uncategorized
/ By Matt Philleo

Did you know there’s a color that’s darker than black?

Yes, you can use my “secret” color to increase the contrast in your acrylic portrait.

One of the best ways to make your portrait “POP” is to give it more contrast. In other words, to make the dark values darker, which in turn, makes the light values look lighter.

And if you can get your darkest values as dark as they can go, that will really help your portrait to look it’s best.

But what do you use? Black is the color most of us artists would reach for. But let me show you another color that works even better…

Watch the video below to learn more how I increase the contrast in your portrait with my secret color.

LEARN MORE

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,

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 Titanium White Clothing Highlights in an Acrylic Grisaille

/ Real Time Tutorial Uncategorized Video Tutorial
/ By Matt Philleo

I’ll show you how to add special nuances, that is, titanium white highlights for your grisaille acrylic portrait.

A grisaille is a monochromatic painting over a earth-toned ground (background) that you add color glazes on top of.

Using my portrait painting of Paul the Apostle praying, I’ll show you how to use a small round brush and make your clothing look realistic with the strategic placement of highlights. You can use this technique in your portraits today!

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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,

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!

Weird Way to Apply Gesso to Your Canvas

Most store-bought canvases are not primed very well and can benefit from another layer or two of gesso.

I’ll show you a weird way to gesso a canvas, to smooth out the surface texture. It works much better than just a brush alone.

Often, the brush will leave a lot of unwanted vertical texture on your canvas. This technique overcomes that and, in turn, will make your painting process easier, and allow you to achieve smoother shading and increased detail.

SUPPLIES NEEDED”

Pre-primed canvas

Drywall taping knives (4″ or 6″, possibly 10″)

2″ or 3″ Household paintbrush

Gesso (high quality–Liquitex or Nova Color)

Matte Medium (high quality–Liquitex or Nova Color)

Container (1 qt. size yogurt container works well)

Easel to hold canvas securely.

Cotton Towel

HOW TO DO IT:

Step 1. Pour gesso into your container until about 1/4″ full. Add some matt medium (1/4 of the amount of gesso) Mix well.

Step 2. Brush gesso onto the canvas generously and vertically. Smooth out as best as you can.

Step 3. Use your largest taping knife to smooth out the gesso application.

Step 4. Switch to your smallest taping knife, keeping it at a 45° to 33° angle, using less pressure to feather out any vertical ridges. Wipe your knife on a towel to keep it clean and avoid buildup that could get on your canvas. When done, immediately clean your knives with soap, water, and rubbing alcohol to prevent rust. Careful, as taping knives have a very sharp edge!

Step 5. Let it dry for several hours and then sand it with 250 or higher grit sandpaper on a sanding block. (Use a dust mask!)

Wipe off any excess dust and you’re ready to paint, or add another layer if you’d like for extra smoothness.

(I cannot be held responsible for any damage to you or your canvas by using this technique. But I can say it works well. )

LEARN MORE

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,

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 Create Contrast in a Chiaroscuro Acrylic Painting

/ Uncategorized
/ By Matt Philleo

Contrast is so important in a painting.

In this video, I will show you how you can add contrast, that is the dramatic difference between light and dark in your portrait.

I’m using the 16 x 20 painting of Paul the Apostle praying as an example. Using the Caravaggio chiaroscuro technique of layering earth tone or monochromatic glazes on top of each other, I’m building up depth to bring out the drama of the subject.

LEARN MORE

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,

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!

Is it possible to fix a portrait you’re not happy with in 30 minutes?

/ Uncategorized
/ By Matt Philleo

What can you do for a portrait painting in 30 minutes?

In this video, I’d like to show you a 30-minute acrylic portrait that I decided to add more time to. (Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the original video for the first half hour!! )

I wasn’t entirely happy with the likeness and realism that I achieved, so I figured I would record another video to show you what is possible during that time.

By giving yourself a 30-minute deadline, you can accomplish more. Watch this video to see how you can do that in your own portrait!

LEARN MORE

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,

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!

Category Archives for Uncategorized

Which is more vibrant—glazing or opaque?

Did you know that there are common ideas of people about portrait painting?

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

How do you paint trees and landscapes?

Do you want to learn how to draw a pencil portrait?

How to Enhance the Contrast in Your Acrylic

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.

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,

P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it in 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!

It’s something all artists dread: getting a hole torn in your canvas. Sooner or later, it’s probably going to happen to one of your paintings.

Did you know there’s a color that’s darker than black?

I’ll show you how to add special nuances, that is, titanium white highlights for your grisaille acrylic portrait.

Most store-bought canvases are not primed very well and can benefit from another layer or two of gesso.

Contrast is so important in a painting.

What can you do for a portrait painting in 30 minutes?