How to Paint Realistic Acrylic Portraits Faster

in painting •  7 years ago 

Is it possible to paint a realistic acrylic portrait in an hour? Let me show you...

30-Min_Portrait_2a.jpg

One-hour portrait study of my wife, 11 x 14, acrylic on canvas

Last week, I did a portrait study of my wife in acrylic in 30 minutes' time. Even though I liked what I accomplished in a half an hour, I wanted to see how much further I could take the painting in another 30 minutes. And so here is a video detailing the process...

In this video, you will learn blending techniques in acrylics, as well as how to achieve realism in your portraits relatively quickly. Now, I want to say that doing fast paintings like this will not take the place of tightly defined, methodical paintings where you're patient in building up the layers of color and nuances, but it will help you to get faster at painting and be a nice exercise to see what you can capture in a short amount of time.

What you see in the video thumbnail image is how the portrait turned out in approximately 1 hour of work. It is an 11 x 14, acrylic on canvasboard.


For your reference:

Original reference photo

30-Min_Portrait__ref.jpg

30 minutes in...

30-Min_Portrait_1a.jpg

Another 30 minutes in...

30-Min_Portrait_2a.jpg

Let me know how this video helps you in learning to paint confident realism in acrylics, especially portraits. If I can help you or answer any questions for you, just let me know!

All the best,

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If you like this post, please upvote, follow and resteem. I post regularly on art, tips on painting and drawing, and encouraging thoughts.

See more of my artwork at: MattPhilleo.com

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nice work :-) resteeming u. Will upvote u when my power backs :-)

Thanks, Raph!

Very nice x

Thank you!

great work @mattphilleo

Thanks, Mphil...you kind of have a similar name to mine!

Yes, both our first and last initial are the same.

@mattphilleo - Impressive artwork and this painting shows how much you love your wife. Adorable!

Thank you, Crypto--Yes my wife is a beautiful person inside and out. :)

Great work..very helpful. Love the prayer.I do the same...😚

I really like seeing the in between stages and how much more detail goes in each time. Is this what you would do if you were creating a photorealistic portrait with no time limit, and just keep going back with more detail? Or because you knew from the start you were limiting your time, your process from the start was different?