What is the best way to start an acrylic portrait?

Do you just begin with a white canvas, and fully paint everything from left to right, as you would in a drawing?

That's how I used to paint, until I learned the glazing technique. I would painstakingly render every detail, and move across the surface of the canvas. But I always had a lot of white canvas staring me in the face.

After learning the glazing technique, instead, I could begin to slowly develop the portrait, like an Polaroid photograph.

Psychologically, it felt less intimidating. And it was fun to watch the process of the painting methodically taking shape.

In this video tutorial today, I'm going to show you how I begin my painting--what colors I use, where I put them and why.

https://youtu.be/HmVYYtT4aT4

Hopefully, this may provide you with a different approach to acrylic portrait painting, especially if you're used to simply covering your painting opaquely across the surface of the canvas.

Let me know how this tutorial helps!

![Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQme9bNQFGcRh2U1rdE1BKQP6PgXkF7asr6qD67Vc8uYu6M/Signature_200dpi_sm.jpg)

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See more of my artwork at: [MattPhilleo.com](http://mattphilleo.com)