by Matt Philleo | Sep 15, 2016 | New Artwork
It’s been way too long since I posted on my blog. Please forgive the lapse. I feel like I’m getting back in the game in working on my blog again.
This past month, I was away from home much of the time over in Minnesota, creating a large scale mural like I did last year for the Montessori School. The same client who asked me to paint the massive portrait of his family, hanging out together in their 20’s with New York and Minneapolis in the background had me do another for him.
This time, it was a 8′ x 18′ mural of the new US Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.
Even a Packer fan has to appreciate the excellence of the Viking’s new venue. Their stadium is a fantastic design, and I heard has tons of artwork on display, as well as several clubs for people to hang out at.
My client, Jim, had mentioned this idea back when I delivered the painting to him in April. He showed me his media room, complete with five big-screen TVs on one wall. (Are you kidding me?) His idea was to have the Viking’s new stadium as the backdrop, and then install a score ticker on the top, roughly matching the size that it would be in the actual stadium. I loved it, and I could visualize bringing it to life for him.
This would be more than just a picture decorating the room.
A mural is not just a painting on a wall–it’s a painted environment.
In August, things lined up and Jim pulled the trigger. So I got a bunch of paint ordered, supplies packed up and started painting August 15th. It worked out great that my brother in law lives in Eagan, MN, just minutes from my client’s home in Lakeville. I was able to stay at his place for several nights while working on the project.
The start of every mural project: a blank wall.
Now, to get off to the right start.
The first thing to do after hauling my paint and supplies to the upstairs room was to measure the wall. The Vikings logo at midfield was to be right in the center of the wall, just below the main TV. However, I instead placed the the midpoint about five inches to the right of that mark, right where I noticed holes in the wall for the mounting bracket of the center TV. Since the logo was supposed to be directly below the TV, I reasoned it would be best to line midfield at that point, rather than the wall’s actual center.
Next, I taped the wall off and set down my drop cloths. Standard procedure for any mural job, where a person is going to spend a lot of time on one wall. I got out some purple first, which would serve as the background color, representing the thousands of seats in the stadium.
After applying it, I noticed it looked kind of dark and grey.
The value and tone was perfect when I selected it.
Why did it look so different here?
And that is almost always how it goes. You can pick a color at the paint store and it looks wonderful with the rich, even lighting there, but put it in a real environment where there are strong shadows and reflections, and you get a whole different look.
US Bank Stadium Mural, 8′ x 18′ Jim C’s home, Lakeville, MN, in progress
So, just like when the quarterback sees something on the line he doesn’t like, I had to adjust.
I mixed a more intense purple and went over the whole area.
Next, I painted in grey stripes to represent the walkways between the seats, detailed them with lines to indicate steps, and then I painted the area above the seats: the lights, monitors, and clubs within the upper areas of the stadium.
From time to time, Jim would check out my work. He reserved judgment.
“I know it takes a lot of layers,” he said.
Although I wanted him to like it, and certain points during the job, I wasn’t sure if he did, at least I knew he understood the process of creating art well enough that things sometimes don’t look so great in progress.
This is a way different than doing art in the studio where I am accustomed the “in between stage” of a painting sometimes looking pretty crazy, and even downright terrible in the initial stages. But there, it’s just me and the painting. The client doesn’t see it till it’s done.
So I’m not saying I was scared to do a painting on someone’s wall, but I am a little more aware of my process and what the client perceives as it takes shape. Jim and his family put me at ease however, and just let me do my thing.
Well, once I got into the green for the field, things were rolling pretty well. I was coming to the end of the week and at a good point. But then I hit a major impasse.
US Bank Stadium Mural, 8′ x 18′ Jim C’s home, Lakeville, MN, in progress, green added
Sometimes you have to get a little grass on your helmet before you can win the game–complete the painting successfully.
Jim and I were discussing the progress, and I mentioned how I cleverly lined the field up with the holes for the mounting bracket.
“Um, the TV won’t be going right over those holes,” Jim mentioned. “the holes are there because of the studs. The TV is going to sit right in the center of the wall.”
Uh oh. First and goal and the ball somebody fumbled the ball.
“We have a little problem,” I said.
As I mentioned earlier, I designed the mural to revolve around what I believed to be the center, based on those mounting holes, instead of the actual center. I was over five inches off! To bring up the football analogy again, you know as well as I do, a game can be won or lost based on just inches.
To resolve the issue–which was clearly my fault–I offered to repaint the stadium rows to make them line up with the actual center of the wall. But that would take a day’s work at least. Jim said that wasn’t necessary. But he did want me to line up the field with the TV. We agreed to go with this compromise, but it bothered me that a person may be able to see how the stadium rows didn’t quite line up with midfield. Fortunately, Jim had noticed that the midpoint of the wall was actually a couple inches from what I thought it was. This meant that instead of the stadium seating rows being five inches off from center, they were actually only about two.
This was a gap that was way easier to bridge.
So I lined up the midfield at this point.
What a blessing! I was thanking God for this breakthrough!
Yard markings added.
I continued to work, and began the stripes delineating the yard markings on the field. To get everything accurate, I printed off a scaled version of the design, at a ratio of 1:24.
Then I measured, calculated, and measured.
Drawing the yard numbers in chalk.
I never realized I could use this much math in art!
Not only did the stripes have to be at the correct angle and the correct distance apart, but they had to widen at the just the right amount, to looks as if they were coming toward you in perspective. I marked everything off in chalk first and then, taped off what I was going to paint. It’s the best way to get razor sharp, straight lines.
Carefully painting in the hash marks, with masking tape as a straight line to keep the edges sharp.
Once the yard markings were in place, the field looked incredible. The illusion of perspective was so strong, that when I stood close to the painting, I felt as if I would fall in! It was a weird feeling.
The completed football field, minus the logo.
At this stage, I could tell Jim really loved what he was seeing. So did I.
I felt like I was on the finishing drive now.
The last few days I worked on the logo. The quickest and most accurate way to paint this, was to use an overhead projector. After getting the image to the correct size, I painted color by color. After a little work, it came out just right.
Painting the Viking’s head, initally with simple base coats.
The completed logo.
Finally, I painted some detail on the stadium walls that was missing. Jim and I both agreed that the Vikings face logo that was repeated in the actual stadium on the walls was overkill, so instead he thought of something way cooler: to paint the Vikings text logo and just one head on either side.
Painting in the logo precisely.
It was a great result.
Always room for one more…
There was a little more detail that Jim thought was needed to complete the mural. A couple days before it was done, when I came in for the morning’s work, he said, “Matt, something is missing in this painting.” I was thinking, “Oh great, what is it?” I thought maybe I had made a big error like I had with the midfield measurement.
I said, “Why don’t we look at the mural and you can show me.”
How much time is this going to take? I wondered.
So we went upstairs and he said, “Right at about the 30 yard line, I need this added…”
And then he showed me a picture on his cellphone of Aaron Rodgers, flat on his back!
“Oh man, you got me!” And I slapped him on the back. We both laughed.
I figured I would have to get him back now.
A final touch.
So when I signed the mural, I painted the Packers “G” logo next to my name, but I put it on a piece of masking tape. I had all my paints cleaned up, and finally Jim noticed the little addition. He said, “What…is that? You left than on there? You did not!”
I let him look at it in amazement for a bit, but then I just peeled the logo right off.
“You got me!” he laughed.
Here is the photo of the completed mural the day I finished it, with Jim and his wife Chris standing happily in front.
The completed US Bank Stadium Mural, 8′ x 18′, at Jim C’s residence, Lakeville, MN
And then, a photo of the mural with the TVs and score ticker installed, all doing their thing on game day!
US Bank Stadium hand-painted custom mural at Jim C’s residence, Lakeville, MN. 8′ x 18′
With all said and done, this was one of my more challenging and rewarding projects. And as with most things in life–there are challenges to overcome, but if you stay true to your vision even when things don’t look pretty and rely on the Lord’s help, you can get create something excellent that brings enjoyment to others.
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by Matt Philleo | Jul 30, 2016 | Christianity & Culture, Encouraging Thoughts, New Artwork
Will we get to see our lost loved ones again after we die?
This is a question that has both haunted and comforted humanity for thousands of years. The answers people have given to this question have caused the rise and fall of empires from ancient Egypt to the schism in the Catholic Church during the Reformation.
No book discusses this issue more plainly than the Bible. In its pages, you can find the meaning of life today and discover amazing hope for the next life as well. The Bible teaches clearly that all who believe in Jesus for salvation will get to see their lost loved ones, who have also believed, after death. It will be a glorious, happy reunion, where God promises to wipe every tear.
Here is what Jesus said about it in the book of John 11, verse 25:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.”
Custom commissioned pencil portrait sketch, a memoriam, by artist Matt Philleo, 16 x 20, completed in July 2016.
Earlier in the month, I finished this commissioned 16″ x 20″ drawing for a lady named Karla I met on Facebook through a mutual friend from church. She went through the unfortunate, tragic event of her husband disappearing almost four years ago and being declared dead. Then her son, who had special needs and health problems, died several months ago.
What incredible suffering and loss to have to go through! I could scarcely imagine it.
She asked me if I could draw a portrait of what their reunion might have been like in heaven.
I was thrilled to be able to draw this for her, to capture that special moment when her son, in the presence of Jesus, completely healed, jumped off his wheelchair and ran to see his daddy.
Here is what she wrote when I sent her the proof:
“I have not been able to stop crying….you captured something I cannot even explain! I have never seen Jacob standing like that, so that REALLY got me and the look on Dave’s face is SOOOO spot on. I can honestly picture this as what happened. The joy for both of them must have been unreal. Thank you so much!!! I have time on Wed. all day if we could meet. Otherwise, just let me know what would work!”
Karla
And then after she received the actual drawing, she wrote this to share:
“My husband Dave went missing on 9/22/12 and to date, his body has not been found. We all feel however that his soul has reached heaven. My son Jacob, who had severe disabilities, suffered greatly when his daddy went missing. It was hard enough for us to understand, nonetheless Jacob.
“On November 20, 2015, Jacob suffered a severe brain injury and was pronounced brain dead. As he took his last breaths, I told him when he saw Daddy to run as fast as he could. With tears in his eyes, he took his last breath.
Commissioned pencil portrait by artist Matt Philleo, 2016, detail
“This moment was one I could visualize and so deeply wanted it captured in art. Expectations of what I would see and what I actually received, were far exceeded. The joy that is shown on Jacob’s face is contagious. Many commented that they felt they could hear Jacob giggle just looking at his face.
“Tears filled my eyes as I saw my son standing for the first time in his life.”
“I can feel the anticipation of leaving his chair behind to run to his beloved dad.
“Dave was in an amazing father, especially to Jacob. It took my breath away when I saw the look on Dave’s face. He had a way of holding his mouth and cheeks when he was so happy, he was ready to cry. I had not provided any pictures to Matt that showed this expression. All I can say is that Matt was led by Jesus to capture that which was SO important to me….the look I knew Dave would have when he saw his son again.
Pencil portrait artist Matt Philleo’s client, Karla S., holding a drawing he did of her late son and husband in July 2016.
“I cannot even begin to say how healing it was to have this portrait done. The loss of not only my husband but also my son, has been so painful. The peace I felt is beyond understanding. It felt wonderful to “see” them again. Thanks again, so much for your amazing gift!”
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by Matt Philleo | Jun 26, 2016 | Encouraging Thoughts, New Artwork
If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I often use my works of art as a conversation piece. The art becomes an avenue of dialogue, and sometimes the conversation diverges off the path of the original idea conveyed in the work, just like you may compliment your friend on their tasteful decor, and then moments later you segue into talking about how you and your best friend met.
I think this is what will happen with today’s post. I hope you don’t mind. 🙂
I recently got back from a wonderful vacation in Michigan visiting friends over in the Detroit area, and then had a beautiful, scenic drive through the U.P. We stayed overnight in Escanaba, and in the morning our kids played at a vacant and refreshing beach.
A scenic beach in Escanaba, MI
With this time away from the studio, I came back refreshed, but had to stoke the coals a bit to get the productive artist in me going again after a week of inactivity!
Monday afternoon, some classmates from high school made the two-hour drive from Merrill, WI to Eau Claire to pick up this wedding portrait I did for them. I love how it turned out, and as I told them, it all starts with an excellent photo to work from. The pose is natural and the they are a good looking couple.
“Jaeger Wedding Portrait,” by portrait artist Matt Philleo, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas
This was a candid shot taken right before the grand march, and perfectly captures the overflowing joy of the celebration of their new life together.
Here is a photo of them in front of the painting. Nearly twenty years and still going strong!
Celebrating nearly 20 years of happy marriage.
From my recent visit with them at my studio, and prior to that, at the Merrill High Alumni Art Show in February, they seem to be a truly happy couple, and a great match. I believe God has blessed them indeed in many ways.
Now this is where the conversation will veer off the path just a bit. But I think you’ll find I’ll still be driving on the right side of the road as we go along in this discussion!
I can understand how people that are well suited to each other in marriage can have many blissful, stable years together. You know the kind of marriage I’m talking about: Ward and June Cleaver, where everything is tidy, docile, and neatly tucked in behind a white picket fence where a happy nuclear family lives their picture-perfect life.
But what do you do when you and your spouse are two very different people and things aren’t working out the way you want?
What do you do when the flame is an ember nearly snuffed out and sometimes you interact with each other like oil and water, fire and ice, Packers and Vikings fans…you get the point!
As far as this couple I did the portrait for goes, naturally I don’t know entirely what their situation was and is. They were high school sweethearts and probably get along great together, but I’m sure they have had to work at their relationship like the rest of us.
Now to take it a step further, maybe you have struggled severely in your marriage, and you have discovered your spouse is not the person you thought when you married them (and the feeling is mutual!) You have weathered severe financial and health trials, difficulties, personality conflicts, challenging extended family relationships, and destructive arguments with each other, and yet you have still managed to stay together.
To you, I lift my hat. I think this is a miracle.
I know it has been for me and my wife.
We are two very different people and have such different perspectives on so many things. We didn’t really know the full extent of this before getting married. We just liked hanging out with each other and the relationship grew. Oh, we had some hints that we may have “compatibility issues” but we loved each other and thought those things would just work their way out naturally.
Those issues worked their way out, all right. In many an argument, both loud and even worse, in the bitter, seething, silent treatment that often is far more damaging. If it were not for the grace of God, I can honestly say my wife and I would be divorced several times over!
“The Silent Treatment”, photo by Matt Philleo
You’ve heard the sad statistics on today’s marriages–that more than half end in divorce. There are so many things in today’s culture that can drive a couple apart: financial strain, health problems, infidelity exacerbated by the explicit culture, and constraints on family time.
After dealing with divisiveness in your relationship for a while, you can start to have serious doubts.
However, I learned an important truth from a preacher, Paul Washer, I heard on an online sermon one day. This secret has helped me so much when I’ve been tempted to give up:
You didn’t marry the wrong person.
God is sovereign. He created the world, including us, and holds it all together. He gave us free will, but even within the freedom He has given us to make choices, He ultimately calls all the shots. The game is rigged, but in a good way. It’s like the casino where you can play every slot machine in the line, and the house always has the advantage. They know the kind of results you’ll get, even though you choose where and how you’ll play. It’s like this with God, except He is good, kind and benevolent, and not anything like a profiteering casino owner. He has a purpose and a plan. It’s good, and He will carry it out, using everything to His advantage.
God, in His sovereignty, (especially if you are a Christian), has allowed you to be matched up with a person that lacks many of the very things you wanted in a mate.
Why would He do that?
The primary reason is so that you will learn to depend upon the grace of God and be conformed to the image of Christ.
In other words, you will feel so hopeless sometimes that you will cry out to God for help.
Not only that, but the other person’s difficult, abrasive behavior (at least so it feels to you) will sand off your rough edges like sandpaper. You will learn what it is like to love someone you feel is not worthy of your love. In essence, you will experience, at least to a slight degree, what Jesus feels when He loves us–broken, rebellious, and wicked as we are.
And as He loves us, and we receive His love, that’s what brings a change. We respond to that faithful love and say, “If God is that good to me, let me live my life for Him. Let me love Him back!” We can do this same thing for our spouse. We can love them and watch them change as a result. But even if takes years, we can learn patience in the process and grow more like God day by day.
My wife and I in our renaissance-themed wedding attire.
Another wonderful thing is that God, also in His sovereignty, has given you a spouse who is strong in all the areas they must be strong in, because He never gives us more than we can handle.
The apostle Paul wrote about this idea in his first letter to the Corinthians, recorded in chapter 10, verse 13:
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
So if you are tempted to throw in the towel, don’t. There is always more grace to endure, if you’ll ask God for it.
God has given us a spouse that, even though they rub us the wrong way sometimes, together we can create electricity like a balloon on a wool sweater!
For example, my wife is the more logical one in the relationship, whereas I am more of the emotional type. She balances me out. I may see an opportunity and want to dive in, but she will caution me from being too eager, driven by my passion rather than taking a cold look at the facts. Listening to her counsel (need to do more of that) has saved me from many blunders.
The biggest thing that has kept my wife and I together is our commitment to forgive. We have both fired cannons at each other and hurt each other with our words and actions many times, but one thing we do is forgive…and quickly. All I have to do is think about how much the Lord has forgiven me, and how desperately I want to feel His love, embrace and presence after sinning against Him or others, that I can’t afford to hold a grudge against my wife. Not even for a minute.
I have been tempted to punch walls, like I used to do before I was a Christian.
As recently as just this week.
But I took the anger, the blinding rage and dropped it all in front of the Lord as I fell to my knees. And although I’d like to say I had instant, perfect peace, the animosity was at least soothed and I could think clearly again. My wife and I then talked the issue out and forgave each other and that was that.
When I think about the last twelve years of marriage, I can truly say I love my wife more today than I did gazing at her beautiful face at the altar. Because it’s one thing to love when your emotions are soaring, expectations are high, and life up until that point has been mostly pleasant, but it’s another thing entirely to love when your emotions have gone down the drain, your expectations are dashed, and you life has been both unfair and often unpleasant.
Love is not a feeling but a choice.
Love is not a cohabitation, but a commitment.
Love is not clean, but it is cleansing.
How about you? If you are married, what has kept you and your spouse together? Do you have any advice or wisdom to share? Thanks!
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by Matt Philleo | Jun 9, 2016 | New Artwork
A few weeks ago, I posted on a new painting I completed recently, a 48″ x 72″ black-and-white portrait of a family from the Twin Cities. It was the largest portrait I have ever been commissioned to do, and arguable the most unique. There’s more about the idea and how the portrait came to be, here.
I’ll jump in where I left off on the last post. The portrait took nearly 200 hours to complete, from the time taken to build the sizable canvas stretcher frame to the last dab of paint.
I underestimated the challenge of painting in monochromatic.
Although it is easier to do a painting this way than full-blown color, it presented a few difficulties that I didn’t foresee, at least to the extent that surfaced in this work.
You would think that to do a black and white painting that you would simply just use black and white paint and mix various amounts to arrive at the grey tones in between.
It didn’t work that way for me.
I typically paint with a translucent glazing technique that allows light to reflect through the canvas and back to your eye through the layers of paint, like the Old Masters, giving the final painting a vibrance that is hard to capture with opaque paint alone.
So, when you mix black with the clear acrylic medium, even mixed with some white, and apply it to the canvas, the resulting color is not slate grey, but a brownish grey, because the light shining through the canvas warms up the color.
Then, when certain areas become more opaque than others, the predominance of white mixed in with layers gives the grey shade a cooler, bluish cast.
Maybe I’m just picky, but I don’t want certain areas of the painting to look brown or blue (at least without my say so) when I’m shooting for black and white. If the client commissions a black and white painting, that’s what he expects to get.
The solution?
My black and white palette
I included brown, yellow, and blue on my palette and mixed it back into the colors to correct anything that was off. If the shade was too cool, I warmed it up with brown and yellow. If it was too warm, I cooled it down with blue.
So even in a monochromatic painting, I still end up using color!
But that’s OK, because color is fun to use. 🙂
Now I did make the background just a bit cooler in tone, so that it would visually recede. But it’s nice to be able to do that, when you, the artist chooses to, not just letting the paint do whatever it wants to.
After finishing up the background, I really honed in on the people in the foreground. Here are some photos of me working taken by a talented photographer, Tom Gardner, at Artisan Forge Studios, where I work. At this stage I am nearly finished with the portrait. Yes, I can see the finish line from here!
Artist Matt Philleo working on a 48″ x 72″ commissioned portrait painting at Artisan Forge Studios
I completed the painting, sent a proof to the client, Jim, and he responded, asking me to make a few minor changes on his son’s face. You don’t always get it right the first time. But I have learned this over the years:
As long as you stick with it, and ask God for help on how to make the necessary changes, it will always turn out all right.
In this case, Jim was extremely specific in the corrections he requested and, from an artist’s perspective, that really helps. That way, you’re not just shooting in the dark. You know what you need to do and how to get there.
Artist Matt Philleo detailing a face within the 48″ x 72″ portrait.
After the changes, Jim approved the portrait, and I wrapped it up and made the drive to Minnesota to deliver it. Jim only lives 1 1/2 hours away, so I figured delivering it in person was the best way to go.
He and his wife loved it, and I feel like their home is the perfect environment for this painting both aesthetically and conceptually.
It fits right in, and their decor matches perfectly.
The finished portrait hanging in the client’s home in Minnesota.
Jim just sent me a testimonial on this portrait, which he posted on Thumbtack.com, the website that brought his idea and my execution of it together. Here’s what he wrote:
“Most art that I have purchased or have been interested in was more abstract. One day, I was looking to do something different that I didn’t even know if it was possible. I thought what if I wanted a portrait painted of my family when we were all the same age? Could that be done, capturing the realism I would want? I was not fully aware of one’s capability in portrait art. You see portraits done and they are hard to measure because you do not know the person that is painted to make a fair judgment on accuracy. I did not know anyone locally so I went out on the Internet to search for an artist. By going this route, I was skeptical that I would find someone who could do the work and someone I could trust.
“Jim C. Family Portrait”48 x 72, acrylic on canvas, by artist Matt Philleo, detail
“I must have look at about 2-dozen artists. Once of those artists was Matthew, and after reviewing Matthew’s portfolio, I had to contact him to see if there was any interest. Matthew was very quick to respond. We discussed the project and there was mutual interest, but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger due to other projects and obligations.
“Once I was ready, I sent an email, and again, Matthew was very prompt with responding to my inquiries. We finally met in person for the initial concept. We provided pictures both as older and digital photos of our kids. Matthew provided the timeline of how long the portrait would take and we agreed to go forward.
Jim C. Family Portrait, detail
“From the initial meeting to the finished product, there was not one glimpse of doubt, or any negativity that surrounded this project. I could not be happier about the entire process and the outcome. This project in my mind was very complex. The work Matthew did was excellent and exceeded expectations.
“Jim C. Family Portrait” 48 x 72, Acrylic on Canvas, by portrait artist Matt Philleo
“The concept of the painting was to have: me, my wife, my daughter, and my son, from left to right, with the New York skyline merging into the Minneapolis skyline. The pictures we provided were not suited for the painting. The portrait was to portray us standing. The picture of my wife and I were of us sitting. My wife was sitting back in the chair and tilted to the side.
Jim C. Family Portrait-detail
Jim C. Family Portrait- detail
“For my son, we had two pictures, one of him that was used in the portrait and another in a Wild jersey. We wanted to use the one photo but with him wearing the Wild jersey. The end result was amazing where we all look like we were standing and my son’s picture was merged with the Wild jersey.
Jim C. Family Portrait, 48″ x 72,” Acrylic on Canvas, by portrait artist Matt Philleo, detail
“There were two types of skill here: one producing the concept with image manipulation and two, painting the portrait to perfection. Once completed, Matthew sent photos of the portrait for any modifications. We had a few minor changes and Matthew was great about them. Once that was completed, he personally delivered the painting to our home. Once we saw the painting in person, I could not believe how awesome the painting looked.
Jim C_Family Portrait, detail of bridge
“The entire process working with Matthew was great. He is an awesome person and an awesome artist. I would most definitely work with him again. I have a mural that I want painted on an 18’x8′ wall. And time around I am totally confident its going to be great because I know Matthew will do a great job, and personally there is no other artist I’d rather work with.” —Jim C, Lakeville, MN
It was an privilege and blessing to be able to paint this portrait for Jim and his family and bring his compelling idea of bridging two generations together to life.
Would you like to have a unique portrait done? If so, I would love to work with you too!
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If you have any comments or questions about this post, please leave me your feedback below! I will personally get back to you. Can you help me spread the word? Please share this post with your family and friends by using the social media links on the side or below. Thank you!
by Matt Philleo | May 25, 2016 | New Artwork
I just finished a new drawing last week, a pencil portrait sketch commissioned by a previous client. This drawing was to be given as a gift for his girlfriend, most likely a belated, but very special Mother’s Day gift.
It’s an 11 x 14, pencil on paper.
I took two different photos and combined them into one drawing. The girl on the bottom wasn’t shown in the original photo of the mother and her younger daughter, so I added that in from another photo.
The nice thing about a portrait drawing is that you can combine different photos together into one cohesive image. This is a great image of a beautiful mom with her two smiling children, and it was wonderful to be able to create this unique sketch for my client.
With this, I think of Mother’s Day that we just recently celebrated, and how amazing mothers are. All the pain they go through to bring a child into the world, the commitment to nurse and care for that child immediately after, and all the love they pour out into their children’s life day by day is nothing short of heroic.
Speaking of heroic, I remember several years ago, when my son was just months old, my wife and I were walking from a restaurant, and she was carrying him and some other stuff, too. (What was I doing? Probably nothing!) She tripped on a divot in the sidewalk and our son went flying out of her arms. Almost like a wide receiver stretching to catch a low pass, my wife adroitly reached out her hand just in time, cupping our baby’s head from what would have been the deadly impact of concrete. She still has a scar on her hand to this day, a testament to her instinctive, selfless sacrifice.
The only thing I could blurt out was, “Nice save.”
These days, a mother wears a lot of hats. Not only does she take care of the children and the home, but she also often has to work outside the home as well to make sure her childrens’ needs are met.
All of that and she still has to deal with her husband leaving his dirty socks on the floor. Mothers are amazing!
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by Matt Philleo | May 17, 2016 | Encouraging Thoughts, New Artwork
Finally, after three months of intense work, I finished my largest canvas painting ever: a 48″ x 72.” Although I worked on some other projects during the creation of this one, this particular portrait consumed the brunt of my focus–and studio space since the middle of winter.
The concept for this portrait painting was about as unique and intriguing as I’ve ever done, and it certainly was a privilege to be able to bring this idea to life for my client.
I made contact with him originally through the freelance/ self-employment web service, Thumbtack. Jim, my client, saw the profile I had there, and contacted me asking if I could do a portrait of his family. The concept he wanted was a depiction of his wife when they were in their 20’s back in the 80’s, and and their children–who are now in their 20’s–hanging out in the same time and place. In the background is New York City, where they were originally from, merging into Minneapolis, which is close to where they and their kids now live.
This was an idea I just couldn’t pass up.
As a freelance artist, I often take commissions that are your typical portrait based off a “polaroid” style snapshot photo, nothing fancy. Although I enjoy all of these projects because I love to capture the beauty in every person, this idea transcended the mundane, and I was thrilled to be able to bring it to life.
I have often wondered myself what it would have been like to hang out with my dad, for example, when he was my age. Would we be friends? What would we talk about? What kind of things would we do together?
The connection between who we were in the past, often overlooked, is vital to know where we are going.
This identity has a strong correlation with our children, since they in many ways are an offshoot of us. Not only do they share the same DNA, but in growing up with us and learning our habits, we see things in them– both positive and negative–that can help us to take a closer look at ourselves.
Coffee: my drink of choice to get the creative juices flowing.
Jim and I conversed online for a while and at the end of January we got together, along with his wife, Chris, and met over a cup of coffee in Hudson, WI. They decided to go with a 48″ x 72″ size–large enough to fit them, their two kids, and the cities skylines together in one dynamic and cohesive image.
After that, Jim sent me some photos of his family and I got to work putting together a layout of what the painting would look like when finished. It always helps to have a good-looking family to do your painting from! Jim kind of reminds me of Scott Baio or Tony Danza in these photos. 😎
Some of the photos from the client that I used to create this portrait.
Most of the time, I use Photoshop now instead of sketching out a design. It’s beneficial both for me and the customers. They have a stronger visual aid to tell what it should look like, and I have a blueprint to create the actual painting from. Also, making changes in the layout is a snap with Photoshop. You can simply move layers around, alter the photos, increase sizes, cut and paste.
I love it.
Here is the layout I created.
The final layout of the portrait that I created on Photoshop.
During the layout and approval process, I also worked on building the canvas. I started with professional stretcher bars made in the USA, complete with locking mitre joints and beveled edges, and assembled them. It is extremely important to have a strong support for a 4″ x 6″ canvas, to be able to withstand the tension of the stretched fabric, and to keep from warping. I made sure to include cross braces and diagonal braces as well.
The completed 48″ x 72″ canvas stretcher frame.
Next, I stretched the canvas with pliers and stapled it extremely carefully, measuring every mark to ensure even tension. Just this process alone took several hours.
Stretching the canvas.
Finally, the stretched canvas! I apply hot water with a brush to add just a bit more tension and get out any wrinkles. If you tap it, it sounds like a drum!
Tightening the canvas with water.
The next step was to gesso (prime) the canvas. I use a high quality gesso, which is white acrylic paint plus ground pumice to make it sandable. I used three or four coats to get a really smooth and durable surface.
Sanding the gesso.
With a blank canvas to work with, I feel good.
It doesn’t feel daunting. It’s like a clean slate, ready to add something beautiful and intricate to. It makes me think of what God does in our lives when He forgives our sins through Jesus Christ, and then we are clean, perfect, and ready for Him to work with us to create a masterpiece!
It was around the beginning of March when I started painting. Jim and his family approved the layout after a few changes, and so I was ready to go! I decided to skip the pencil sketch, and get into the painting process right away.
Many people ask me how I do the sketching process. It depends on the project. Most often for small portraits, I freehand sketch them. For a large scale and incredibly detailed project like this on a canvas, I will either grid or project the design with an overhead transparency projector. Canvas is very difficult to sketch on with a pencil. In this case, I projected the design I created in Photoshop, using a small brush and a grey paint to quickly capture the lines of the image.
The painted “sketch”
Next, I painted a glaze over the entire painting, to give me a mid-value grey tone to work from. I add in darker values and highlights, working my way across from left to right. I try to develop the painting as a whole and not get too hung up in any one area.
Building in the tones and values.
It took over fifty hours to paint the background. I thought I was making it too dark, and had to constantly remind myself that the subjects, the people in the front would be much darker, with areas of pure black paint, and make the background look lighter by comparison. I wanted to “fix the background” and try to lighten it up, but I kept telling myself, “just wait until you paint the people.”
Background nearly finished.
How often in our lives do we judge something or someone prematurely? We ought to reserve judgment on many things in our lives, and especially in others’ lives, believing the best, and wait until everything shakes out. God has a purpose and a plan that we don’t always see. Things can look horribly wrong, when God is creating something wonderful behind the scenes.
In the next post on this painting, I’ll show you a little more of the process in how I wrapped this project up and share a few more insights.
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If you have any comments or questions about this post, please leave me your feedback below! I will personally get back to you. Can you help me spread the word? Please share this post with your family and friends by using the social media links on the side or below. Thank you!
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