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…
The Light of the World Shining in Our Darkness
Several times, I have wanted to give up being an artist. The end of last month was the most recent time. After Thanksgiving, we had our “Small Business Saturday” sales event at Artisan Forge Studios. But the day before I was very discouraged. The month of October and especially November were slow months, with not a lot of art sales or commissions. Rent was overdue. Our landlord called, after getting a partial payment on rent, and he wanted to know when we would bring our account up to date. I didn’t know the answer to that question. I didn’t know what to do–and I had already tried everything I knew. I felt like throwing in the towel. Sharing these sentiments with my wife, she matter-of-factly and truthfully advised: “God has always provided. He’s not going to stop now.” Feeling just a tiny bit better, I went to bed. The morning of the show I prayed, “God you’re a big God, so I am going to pray a big prayer. I pray that I would sell ‘Smoldering Wick’ (my biggest and most detailed painting, a 30″ x 40″ ) today at the art show.” There was only a trickle of people that came in. But I smiled even though I didn’t feel like it and talked about the painting and the message behind it to whoever showed interest. During the middle of the show, two middle-aged men came in, and drawn to the painting, they asked me what it was about. They listened openly to the spiritual message behind it, and although they didn’t seem to quite share the... read more
Getting the Message Out
This Thursday, I was excited to see the copy of the local paper, the Leader-Telegram, and the article they did on the book I illustrated, “The Boy in a Tree.” They did a great job in highlighting the main message of the book: being content, trusting God like a child, and seeing the value that people with special needs can offer the world. The Saturday before, the author and I held a book signing event at Artisan Forge Studios, and we had a great time chatting with people interested in the story, listening to their stories, and eating too many cookies. It was also neat that I had a chance to see an old friend that I worked with at Sears from years ago and catch up with him. Today, a woman who had read the newspaper article walked into my studio and bought two copies of “Boy in a Tree” from me. We chatted for several minutes, sharing stories about the children in our lives who have special needs, and talking about how thankful we are that societal attitudes have changed so much in the last few decades towards differently able people. I can recall a few years ago, when I had take take my son out of the store because he had a meltdown and, while trying my best to keep my composure, someone looked me in the eye and said, “Good job, dad.” Just those three words made all the difference. I thought, “this person gets it.” It gave me just a bit more of a spark, and I think helped ease the tension a... 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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