STEAMed Drones

At Activingo we are all about positive and memorable experiences. Drones have taken the world by storm due to their ability to precisely and safely take quality aerial imagery. Drones serve a variety of...

Ellen Robinson - Vocal Coach

The power of one's voice can hold immense power. One can use their voice to communicate, heal, and create unity. We are happy to present the amazing Ellen Robinson here at Activingo. Ellen is a long time vocalist and musician. Ellen is a Piano Major and after graduating from Manhattanville College she had aspirations of being...

Reiki Place

Over the past year our lives have changed dramatically with Covid taking the world by storm. People are feeling more anxious and helpless than ever due to the inability to take action and partake in reg...

Bad Dog Art

As children we were all artists, drawing and making art in our freetime. As we grew into our teenage years we began to lose our artistic ways. There are many benefits of art such as stimulating imaginat...

Blue Bear School of Music

Being a kid means living a life of great creativity and partaking in engaging activities that lead to a positive and impactful youth. Unfortunately, in today’s day and age our youth is more plugge...

Tenzins Hunter Music Classes

The ability to play music is like no other. A great way of expression, playing an instrument such as the guitar serves many benefits such as a gradual boost in self confidence, sharpens your concentrati...

Public Dynamics

One can gain many benefits of public speaking in a personal and professional setting. Public speaking allows one to increase your confidence, advance your career, improve communication, make new social ...

Myriad Music School and Dance Academy

Dance and music are two practices that have been performed for thousands of years. Children can gain many benefits when partaking in music and dance as it engages the brain and allows children to learn ...

Mandy Keathley

Everyone can be a photographer with access to our smartphones with the click of one button. We use our phone cameras daily to capture moments that capture our eyes. As easy as it looks to whip out our p...

What is Talent?

I hate it when people respond to my mention that I am an artist by saying, “Oh, you are so talented. I can’t even draw a straight line.” I hate it because:

1. I am not sure that I know what talent is or w...

Staining, Opaque, and Transparent Colors

The terms “transparent” and “opaque” refer to the way pigments cover the painting surface. All paints are formulated by suspending dry pigments in a binder. With oil paints the binder is oil and the solvent used to dilute the paints is turpentine. With acrylic paints the binder is acrylic, and the solvent is water, but the paints are permanent ...

Art as Communication

Art is a communication between the artist and whoever looks at the artwork. Today I am going to explain how that perspective benefits painters. 

The first question I ask students as they are deciding what to paint is ...

Nothing is New Under the Sun!

In my classes I offer the students an opportunity to bring in reference photos for feedback before they decide the subject matter for their next painting. I insist that the photos be their own or at least one that a non-professional has taken in order to maximize their learning opportunities in terms of composition. The students say this exercise is really helpful ...

Painting On Location: Bank Building in Corsicana, Texas

ArtSpeaks Studio Moments address painting issues, particularly in watercolor. This time, as a change of pace, we describe the process of painting a city high rise on location. Painting on location is tricky because you need to take everything you need with you and set up in a secure, reasonably comfortable location. In my case, I don’t like to be in a high traffic areas, and I ...

What is the Point

I recently went to see a retrospective of the work of a very prolific artist. He creates well-crafted but confusing assemblages of nostalgic memorabilia.

Leon Richmond, “Lake-Sentinel-Fishing-Trip, Mixed Media, 2018

The works seem to be laden with symbolism and cultural references that would be obscure to all but those but accomplished trivia masters. I looked to his artist’s statement to add some context and clarify his intent but that wasn&...

Balance – An Organizing Principle of Art

Artists will all have slightly different lists of the Organizing Principles of Art because of semantics, but the list I use is Harmony, Conflict, Variety, Dominance, Repetition, Balance, Gradation. Today I want to talk about Balance.

What Scares Artists?

The other day I had lunch with a friend who doesn’t make art and was telling her about the workshop I am planning called “Expanding Creative Possibilities.” I told her that the reason I am doing it is that so many students say that their fear of making art impedes them and I would like to help ...

Direct (Alla Prima) vs Indirect Painting

There are two basic approaches to painting, Alla Prima or Direct Painting and Indirect Painting. The process of doing paintings in these ways is quite different in watercolor. Direct painting is done quickly and more intuitively than Indirect Painting which takes much longer and is more deliberate. In this video we look at the differences between them and why artis...