by Matt Philleo | Jul 27, 2017 | How to Paint Instruction, Tips for Artists
I have had a few people question me, “how do I log in and purchase your portrait painting course?”
Sometimes the technology is a bit challenging to figure out. Let me show you exactly how to do it. You can find me here on my blog at…
www.realisticacrylic.com
Learn to paint acrylic portraits with an online painting class today
Select the “Painting Classes” option on the top bar, and it will take you to: http://courses.realisticacrylic.com
Once you’re at my courses page…
1. The first thing you need to do is login into the Realistic Acrylic Portrait School
At this screen, click the “Login” text in the upper right. (Not the “sign up” button, but the one next to it)
2. Enter your information (email address and password you created.)
Click “Log In”
3. After logging in, select, the “Paint Your First Amazing Acrylic Portrait” course on the left (if this is the course you want. Most students start with this one or go with the All-Access Membership.)
4. It will take you to this screen. Click the “Enroll in Course” button.
5. Then, select your payment plan. You can pay in full for $97 USD or you can do a three-month payment plan, allowing you to get started for $39 USD today. But you will save $20 by paying in full!
After selecting your payment plan, click the “Enroll in Course” button.
6. Finally, enter your credit card or Paypal information and you can make payment securely online.
7. Click “Verify Payment.” Then finish the step, and confirm your purchase of the course, and you will be set! You will then be able to login like you did in step 1 and 2 and this time you will have full access to the course.
There is no time limit once you buy the course. You can use it as long as you wish.
Hope this helps… Look forward to seeing you inside the course!
All the best,
Matt
by Matt Philleo | Nov 11, 2016 | Encouraging Thoughts, My Art in Progress, Personal Inspiring Stories
It was November 11, 1919.
A year ago on that same day, Germany and the Central Powers agreed to put a stop to the war, laying down their arms and agreeing to the terms of peace set forth by the Allies. President Woodrow Wilson wrote a message to the people of America on this first commemorative Armistice Day:
“…The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men. To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with – solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.”
“Cafe on the Somme,” 24 x 30, Acrylic on Canvas, 1993, by artist Matt Philleo
Armistice Day was later officially changed to Veteran’s Day in 1954. This is a day that we honor veterans, not just those who have died in service, but the living as well.
Both my grandfather and grandmother served in World War II. My grandfather was a pilot who did bombing missions in the Philippines, and my grandmother was a troop transport pilot, spunky and zealous enough to get in the army at age 16 (beats trying to get in a bar under-aged, right?). They met there during service and later got married upon returning home at the conclusion of the war.
My brother in law is a veteran from the Iraq conflict, having served two tours of duty there. He sacrificed a lot of time to serve our country.
I know we say it so much that it seems cliche, but it’s true…
Our veterans served our country well and kept our freedoms secure–either by paying with their life, braving the ever-present threat of losing their life, or perhaps the worst: enduring the trauma of seeing their best friends dying in horrific ways.
We owe them a debt of gratitude.
A few years ago, I created a portrait for a friend from my church who served in the army. He lost his wife due several health problems, and I wanted to encourage him by giving him something to commemorate the memory of his wife.
This is the photo that he gave me to work from:
Photo of Gerald and Mavis J., on their wedding day
Since it was black and white I didn’t know what the colors were on his uniform. He offered to give the uniform to me, but I thought, “No, I better just take a picture of it instead. I sure don’t want to get paint on it!”
As for the colors of the flowers, I didn’t think he would remember after nearly 60 years, but I asked my mother-in-law. Without any trouble, she advised, “Oh yeah, those must be pinks, and those are carnations, and here’s the colors they would probably be.”
So with that information, I got to work.
Here are some in-progress pics of the painting. I start off with just a sketch, and then build up several translucent layers of acrylic paint using the Renaissance Master’s glazing technique.
Portrait painting of Gerald and Mavis J, by artist Matt Philleo, in progress
A painting like this can easily take 30+ hours. But when considering the final goal of the project: encouraging a friend in his loss, every minute is worth it. After he received the painting, my friend wrote:
“Dear Matthew:
RE: Wedding Portrait–
Your loving kindness and genuine concern has deeply touched my heart, and will impact the hearts and minds of other for generations to come……….
God’s anointing on your work is a very special blessing–that reaches beyond the materials and talent–and moves with spiritual brushstrokes to paint love on the canvas of our hearts………….
E.M. Bonds says: God shapes the world by prayer. Prayers are deathless. They live outside the lives of those who utter them.’ Know that I am praying for you!
Like prayer–your work can be deathless, touching the lives of other for God’s plan through the strokes of eternity hidden in them…
Mavis always loved you–and I know she would be pleased and emotionally moved by your work.
Till she sees you again someday–thank you for your kindness and friendship and your Love.
“Shalom”,
Gerald
P.S. This small military remembrance is a token of our love.”
With that, he gave me some of his uniform accoutrements–buttons and his insignia. It was a blessing to be able to do that portrait for my friend and encouraging to get a letter like that. And here is the final 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas portrait.
Wedding Portrait of Gerald and Mavis J., 16 x 20, Acrylic on Canvas, 2013, by Eau Claire fine artist Matt Philleo
I am hoping I can run into a veteran tomorrow. Many times you will see veterans in front of stores and at the post office on Veterans day. It’s more than worth it to spend a dollar on a “buddy poppy” and shake their hand and thank them for their service. Do you know a veteran who’s shut in? Pay them a visit. Just spending some time with them will encourage them and you may find yourself encouraged too as you listen to them share their stories.
Who are some veterans you know, and would you like to share any of their stories right now?
Share Your Thoughts!
If you have any comments or questions about this post, please leave me your feedback at the bottom of the page! 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 | 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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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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