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...

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 Medi...