Portraits to Comfort, Encourage and Inspire
"Come as Children," 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas portrait, Copyright 2017 by Matt Philleo, artist.
"Picking up the Mantle" 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas, by artist Matt Philleo
"Rebuilding the Broken, 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas, depicting Nehemiah rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, an illustration by artist Matt Philleo for a book by Russell Stendal, published by Aneko Press, 2018
"Bethel Mural: The Gospel from Genesis to Revelation", by artists Dave Mattison and Matt Philleo, 2013, panel 2, detail
"Strength to Rise", 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas by artist Matt Philleo, copyright 2017
"Victory in Surrender" 16 x 20, acrylic on canvas, by Matt Philleo.
Portraits to Comfort, Encourage and Inspire
Hi, I’m Matt Philleo. Since 1991, I have been creating detailed, realistic pencil drawings and acrylic paintings on commission and exhibition.
My goal is, through beautiful and emotive art, to bring comfort, encouragement, and inspiration, especially to the discouraged and brokenhearted, so they can experience true and lasting peace.
Please contact me if you have any questions and visit my blog posts to see my most current work. If you’d like to be added to my personal and confidential email list, sign up right here.
To learn more about my custom portraits, visit TraditionStudio.com, my official commissioned artwork page
Thanks for visiting!
“Inscribed”
14″ x 17″
Pencil on Paper
UPCOMING SHOWS:
- 11th Annual Artisans Showcase–Merrill, WI. February 9, 2019 | 12-4:30PM (More info)
- Realistic Acrylic Portraits: A Two-Day Worskshop. March 12-13, 10:30AM-3:30PM (More info)
Here’s the Latest From My Blog…
New Artwork and Building Bridges Part 2
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... read more
Experiencing the Joy of Camping
The passing of Memorial Day heralds the beginning of summer and with it, the camping season. I love this time of year. The weather is still fairly temperate and the days are long. I also love camping. It’s the combination of cooking fire over the open flame, and “roughing it”–leaving many of the conveniences and distractions of home behind that charms me. More than that, it’s wonderful to be out in nature where you can be calmed by the green, translucent canopy above, the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind and dragonflies buzzing, and to be able to take scenic hikes at leisure. My wife was hiking on a beautiful sunlit trail at Copper Falls State Park in Northern Wisconsin, carrying our daughter on her shoulders, and I snapped the photo that this painting was based on. Below is a commissioned portrait sketch I did that celebrates that love of camping. This drawing was made from an older photo, decades old if I remember correctly. Here we can see the husband and wife just enjoying being out together camping, and they look pretty happy. This freehand drawing took a few hours and, although not at my more photorealistic level of work, I think it captures the feel of the picture without too much fuss. For folks that camp at the same place every year, their spot can begin to mean a lot to them–a home away from home. Here is a drawing I did for an old friend from high school based off a photo of his parents’ cabin. After the drawing was done,... read more
I do Custom Fine Art Portraits from Your Photo.
For more info, click on the image, and it will take you to Tradition Studio.com, my official commissioned artwork website.
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