Paint an Amazing Acrylic Portrait

What if you could paint a beautiful portrait, one that you actually enjoy painting?

And what if you felt confident enough to show it to your family or give it as a special gift? And what if you could do all that without having to go to art school, watch hours and hours of YouTube videos, and you've never held a paintbrush before?

Hi! If you haven't met me yet, I'm Matt Philleo, a professional portrait painter and instructor. Over the last 7 years, I have taught hundreds of artists, both complete beginners and those with some experience, how to paint a portrait they can be proud of.

Maybe you've painted a few portraits before. But they didn't turn out the way you wanted.

The colors were muddy.

You lost the likeness after painting over the sketch.

The skin tones were chalky.

Everything looked blotchy.

Or...maybe the canvas turned into a hot mess!

It's no fun at all. Maybe you've really taken a few painting classes, or watched YouTube timelapse videos, to try to glean some techniques. Acrylic is easy to get started with, but hard to master. What kind of mediums do you use to get it to blend smoothly?

I know the frustration.

You see, I was so close to giving up on acrylics. I was introduced to them in high school. Prior to that, I worked in pencil and colored pencil. As students, we squirted out huge gobs of Dick Blick student-grade acrylic, available in primary colors only. When I mixed everything, it turned to mud. Then, when I accidentally spilled water on the canvas, my painting just about washed away!

"Maybe I need better paint," I thought. So, I bought some Liquitex, which is still one of the best brands out there. I also saved up and got some nice brushes too.

But guess what?

I still struggled. I would paint a layer, only to have it begin to dry before I could finish smoothing it out. I brushed furiously, but then I dug a hole into the canvas! The rest of the painting had little white spots where the paint wouldn't settle into the texture. It was a mess, and I was so frustrated!

Why couldn't I get the paint to work for me, like I could with pencils?

I probably wouldn't be an acrylic painter today, unless I had met a man named Norbert Kox.

How it All Changed

Norbert Kox was an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In the summer of 1994, after my sophomore year in high school, I took his one-week intensive class on the acrylic glazing technique. I bought all the paints and medium he recommended—pretty much the same ones I use today—and followed his instructions.

Oh, the things he could do with acrylic...his paintings were amazing! So vibrant, so detailed.

I could see the possibilities. Even though it took me a little while to get the hang of it, I was hooked. The glazing technique made so many things possible!

Whereas in the past, I would lose the likeness after painting opaquely on top of my sketch, now I could sketch with precision and detail, and slowly "fade-in" the glazes on top, like a Polaroid camera print. I could build up depth. My paintings no longer looked flat and lifeless.

And I could blend! I didn't have to fight the quick-drying properties of acrylic. Rather, I made them work for me, adding layer upon layer in rapid succession, creating a smooth transition of value and color.

Soon, I got portrait commissions from teachers and family friends. I also won awards for my work. Truly, the glazing technique was a game-changer.

It is this same technique I am teaching you today. God has blessed me so that I can do art professionally and I have had the privilege of time to be able to push the boundaries of this technique, using it to paint vibrant, realistic portraits for over 30 years! When I last chatted with Norbert before he passed on, he told me he was proud of me and what I accomplished with his glazing technique. That meant a lot.

"But can I do it?"

If you are wondering if it is possible to paint a realistic portrait with this quirky medium called acrylic, I'm here to tell you, absolutely it is!

But you might say, "Well, Matt, you've had years and years to practice your painting skills. I really would like to paint beautiful portraits of my grandchildren in the next month or two."

Not a problem.

I have taught hundreds of students in the last seven years, and I have seen what they can do with desire and the right step-by-step instruction. How long does it take? Not that long. Some of my students paint an amazing portrait—yes, even if they've never painted before—their very first portrait! Others take longer. After each portrait, they get better and better.

I can think of my student Diane, who started off very frustrated with acrylics. But now she is painting incredible portraits of her grandchildren and friends. And they LOVE the portraits she gives them! Or Emily, or Steve, or Godfrey, or Caroline. They all paint amazing portraits and they had very little experience starting out. (You probably know some of these artists because they are in our online painting group!)

So, are you ready? Let's do this!

Let's paint an amazing acrylic portrait together.

I'll show you how step-by-step, in this, my NEW and IMPROVED version of my very first online painting class, "Paint Your First Amazing Acrylic Portrait," launched back in 2017 as a beta course.

I decided to do a complete overhaul on this course and make it way, way better. I still love the original course, but here is a side-by-side comparison of what will be improved...

What Will You Learn in the Class?

Here is a breakdown of the lesson outline...(NOTE: Class lessons are not recorded yet, but will begin in December)

You Can Paint a Portrait!

• Let Me Show You What is Possible
• Why this Class is Perfect for Beginners
• How this Class Can Help Artists with Experience
• A Little About Me and a Tour of My Studio
• A Blessing on You and Your Portrait

• Get Your Supplies Ready
• Pick a Fantastic Photo to Paint From
• How to Customize Your Image (cropping/editing)
• Get Your Photo Gridded
• Prep Your Canvas so It’s Ready to Go!
• BONUS: The 7 Building Blocks of an Incredible Acrylic Portrait

Here is the photo I will be painting during our class, of my wonderful wife Leah, who has encouraged me to never give up on my dream of being an artist...

• Introducing: My “Super-Smooth” Colored Pencil Sketching Method
• Plotting out Your Basic Proportions
• Filling in the Facial Features, Simply
• Locking in the Likeness
• Creating a Road Map for a Successful Painting
• Finish with Superb Detail
• Sealing in Your Sketch So it Won’t Smear

• A Tiny History of the Glazing Technique
• 5 Benefits of the Glazing Technique
• 2 Drawbacks of the Glazing Technique—and How to Overcome
• How Color Theory Works with Glazing (not what you think)
• Let Your Paintbrush Be Your Friend: About Your Brushes and How to Use Them
• BONUS: The “Fantastic 5” Techniques for Shading and Blending

• Introducing My “Slow Fade-In” Glazing Technique
• Choosing the Right Colors for Your Portrait
• Let Your Reference Photo Be Your Guide
• Toning and Muting Your Sketch
• Diving in with the First Glazing Layer—Without Fear
• Build Up the Value Structure and the Color Simultaneously

• The 3 Different Boundaries in a Reference Image
• Let’s Talk About Value and How it Affects Your Portrait
• Contrast is King: How to Establish the Value Structure
• Building Up Depth With Layers
• Differentiating Between Shadows, Mid-tones and Highlights
• Rotating Between Portions of Your Painting
• Balance: What is Value Key and Why it’s Important
• Additional Demonstration on Portrait of My Wife

• 3 Common Myths About Skin Tones, Debunked
• How Realistic Skin Tones are Really Painted
• Skin Tones Get the Credit, But Value Does the Hard Work: a discussion
• Beginning Skin Tones on Our Demonstration Portrait
• Different Kinds of Skin Tones (various ethnicities and color choices)
• How to Apply This to Our Portraits

• How to Use the “Fantastic 5” in Our Portrait
• Using the Sfumato Technique for Painting Dreamy Backgrounds
• Let’s Talk More About Blending in Backgrounds
• Painting Trees and Landscape Elements in Your Background
• Advanced Brush Techniques to Avoid Blotchiness
• Creating Smoothness With Semi-Opaque Layers
  Adding More Layers to the Portrait of Leah

• How to Know When Your Portrait is Done
• Why Too Much Detail Can Kill a Portrait
• How to Make Sure Your Portrait “Pops!”
• Adding the Final Darkest Values
• Adding the Final Highlights
• How to Make Adjustments and Add Nuances
• Refining Edges
• Signing Your Portrait

• Varnishing Your Portrait: What it Does For Your Painting
• How to Varnish Your Portrait Easily and Effectively
• My Thoughts on Framing

• Congratulations—You Did It! (Printable Class Completion Certificate)
• Thank You for Taking this Course
• How to Keep Going as a Portrait Painter

*note the Lesson structure may change a little during the recording process

How will it all work?

The lessons are not recorded yet, but will begin the week of December 4, 2023, and conclude approximately in the week January 29, 2024. I will be demonstrating the techniques on a new portrait of my lovely wife Leah. You are more than welcome to paint along with me, but you can also use these techniques for your own portrait too.
When you purchase the course, you get lifetime access to all the lessons and the bonuses.

Bonuses?

Oh yes, I wanted to spice things up and add more value to this class. These amazing bonuses will help you even further in your portrait painting. Here they are:

• 7 Steps to Building an Incredible Acrylic Portrait Mini-Course: (available instantly) this is my "thesis" on portrait painting. The what, the why, and even some of the how. This is the way I approach my portraits. Learn the fundamental principles in this 2-hour class, and you'll be able to resolve mistakes in your portraits at their root, quickly...you will benefit from it, forever!
• How to Ship Your Portrait Safely…While Saving Time and Money (coming soon)
• 3 Common Mistakes Portrait Painters Make (and how to avoid them) (coming soon)
• NEW: How to Have Confidence as an Artist: Most of the battle as an artist is won or lost in your mind. In this mini video class, I'll show you 8 ways to increase your confidence and some other great things too, to help you feel great as you paint! :)

What is the Investment for a Course Like This?

To go back to art school costs over $40,000 for just one year.

I charge $497 for one month of mentoring with my students (meeting an hour a week)

My original beta version of this class is $97.

This new version, with all the improvements, I'm confident will be much, much better. More value and better results for you. And I've added several bonuses. Originally, I had the price set at $197 for the self-study version, because there's just that much in it. But I wanted to keep the price affordable for the average artist.

So, at the last minute, I changed it. You get this entire course for only $147!

But for the entire week while I launch this course (and it also happens to be Thanksgiving week, with all the special deals) I'm offering this course at an amazing early-bird 50% discount! Ends November 25th.

And don't forget my Satisfaction Guarantee...

If, after taking my course, you are not completely satisfied, just let me know, and I will give you a complete refund. Teachable (where my course is hosted) allows for 14-day refund, but I will extend it to the end of the recording period of our lessons, plus 30 days. I want to make sure that you feel completely confident about this decision to enroll in my course, and that there is no risk to you.

Enroll in "Paint an Amazing Acrylic Portrait" today!