LIGHT ARISES IN THE DARKNESS:
A Journal of Comfort, Encouragement, and Inspiration
Goodbye, Wonderful Old Woman
Today, I said goodbye to a familiar face: a drawing I’ve had in my collection for 22 years. It is one of my favorites, but it was time to let it go. A customer who met me at the Falling Leaves Art Studio Tour this year bought a print of this drawing, and later through email, said she loves the image and would like to buy the original. This is a drawing I did back in 1993, when 15, so it is very special to me. I discovered that black colored pencil could achieve a really rich black, almost like ink. In addition, although nearly impossible to erase, it doesn’t smudge like normal graphite pencils. When I showed it to my art teacher, she loved it, and later on referred to it as the drawing of “that wonderful old woman” The name stuck. My source photo was of an elderly woman, an immigrant from the depression era. I chose not draw a background behind her, leaving the white of the paper to draw even more attention to her face. You can imagine the stories she’d tell if you waited a while to listen. Her careworn face, etched with deep wrinkles, is almost like a roadmap that guides you in learning more about the difficult journeys of her life. And yet, behind that melancholy stare there is a glimmer of hope, a firm resolve to not give up and to make it through. I met today with the customer to hand this drawing over to her. And I’m glad. The joy of this drawing blessing somebody else makes it easy... read more
How to Display and Care for an Acrylic Painting
Since I have painted in acrylics for over 20 years, I’ll speak from my experience with them. Here are some guidelines in displaying and caring for your acrylic painting.
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Great Time at Falling Leaves
This is a very short post just to say thank you to all who came out to visit me at the Falling Leaves Art Studio Tour! For those who were not able to come, thank you for your encouraging words and support of my art career. From the beautiful weather to the great turnout, to the excellent hospitality of the hosting studio and artist, Ron La Blanc, I had a great time at the tour. I sold several prints and made contacts for future art commissions. But the best part of all was the in-depth spiritual conversations I had with folks over a cup of hot cider while viewing my artwork. Next year , I plan on having a greater selection of prints available as well as originals. To do that, I will need to set more clearly defined goals that keep me on track all year long, complete with a production schedule of artwork. Custom art commissions are always incredibly welcome, and I thank God for them since they provide a more guaranteed income enabling me to continue to produce art, but they can leave me with less time than I’d like to create my own ideas–typically, narrative art with an inspirational, encouraging message. But that means I just need to use my time more efficiently so that I can fit both originals and commissioned work into my schedule. One of the resources that is great for keeping a guy on track, regardless of their profession, is blogger and author Michael Hyatt’s Ideal Week. In it, he shows how to block your time out on a weekly basis... read more
How Death Reminds You to Seize the Day
My goal as an artist and, I feel, my calling in life, is to encourage people. So, when dealing with the subject of death, it’s easy to think of it in a morose, depressing way, but I would rather look at the positive side. Just like the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground signals that autumn is here and winter is on it’s way, so also when someone dies, we are reminded of the brevity of life. We think again about our priorities and if we are doing the things that really matter. It’s so easy to chase after more stuff, more success, and happiness in all the wrong places. But the only thing we can take with us when we die is ourselves and those we love. My neighbor, Stu, died about a month ago. I had just gotten to know him–he lived a couple blocks down, but would often walk by and then hang out my next-door neighbor’s house. He was the big, rough kind of a guy that could definitely hold his liquor, but had a softer side too. We found that out when my wife had stopped by our neighbor’s house. Stu was sitting out in front, and he was introduced to my eight-year-old son, who has special needs. When my son found out Stu’s name, he said, “BEEF Stew!” That was the first association in his mind apparently. Stu just smiled and laughed. Later on, I gave Stu a print of my drawing “Inscribed,” that has the hands of God with many names etched in. I was surprised that Stu really loved... read more
Beautiful Art and a Beautiful Drive
I have been a part of a local studio tour, the Falling Leaves Art Studio Tour for five years now. The tour is like the classic Sunday afternoon drive, only you get to visit local artists in their studio, see their incredible art, and in between the stops, take in beautiful scenery adorned by the rich fall foliage that we are so blessed with in Northern Wisconsin. In the tour, there is all kinds of art to see–painting, drawing, pottery, jewelry, functional silverware, woodworking, alpaca yarn creations, and other things you wouldn’t normally associate with art. I happen to do painting and drawing. But I hook up with an artist, Ron La Blanc, who does functional and handsome pottery work and colorful landscape paintings as well. In fact, I stay at his home, and take up residence for two days in his garage, which is transformed into my gallery space. It’s a little challenging, because the side of garage I use is actually where he stores his wood to get him through the winter. (Well, he stores enough to get him through about 5 winters!) Over the last few years, I’ve gotten a little better each time at converting a wall of irregular wood into a gallery space. You hammer nails into the logs, pivot the framed artwork against the various pieces, and pray that they don’t fall! Some of the tour goers have said the wood wall makes a unique backdrop. I agree. I really enjoy getting into meaningful conversations with some of the visitors. A couple years ago, a lady looked at one of my paintings, and... read more
About Me
Hi, I’m Matt Philleo. I create artwork to comfort, encourage, and inspire. For those who are discouraged, brokenhearted and experiencing loss, my artwork has special meaning, often by guiding them to the One who can bring true peace and lasting joy.
I’ve been doing art on commission and exhibition on a part-time basis since 1991, and exclusively full-time since 2013. Currently, I live in Eau Claire, WI with my wife and three children.
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