This topic has 48 replies, 46 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 11 months ago by 
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I’m Lili. I’m one of the GoSA founders. I’ve been a Scenic for about 14 years, if you don’t count the handful of years I was painting as a little girl in my dad’s scene shop (he was a college theatre professor). I’ve since moved on from theatre work to mostly murals and scenic work for other industries. I scrub my brushes down to nubs, I use rollers whenever possible (or impossible– I’m still gonna try!), and my favorite jobs are the ones with the highest pressure; like the time I had to completely repaint a pair of tennis shoes to look like other shoes… shoes that were being filmed for their tv commercial. In 3 hours.
Who are you?
I’m Angelique Powers, and you might recognize my name from all of the Guild’s Scenic Route Posts, as I too, am a proud founding board member! I painted my first Styrofoam rock freshman year of high school, and was hooked on theatre ever since. I got my first paying gig in 1999 – so I guess that means I’ve been a professional for about 18 years now – eek!
I’m not sure what I enjoy more- painting drops or creating realistic finishes for the stage – nothing like making an entire set of fake stuff look so real you’d think you were in an actual diner!
Can’t wait to meet the rest of you!
Hello! I’m Rachael Claxton and I’m the Charge Artist at Actors Theatre of Louisville. This is my first season with Actors, and before that I was the charge at the Cleveland Play House for a few seasons, and prior to that I lived and worked in Chicago for about 7 years. I started painting when I was a tiny high school freshman and haven’t stopped since. My favorite projects are realistic faux finishes with lots of texture and dirt – the grosser I can make it look, the better! I also love a good faux grass! And intricately lettered signs! (Basically I’m saying there’s a lot I like…)
Happy to be here!
Rachael
I’m Val, and I’m one of the GoSA board members and a co-owner of Infinite Scenic, a scenic art shop in East Orange NJ mostly serving the NYC market. I started my work in high school theater near Pittsburgh PA almost 20 years ago, I’ve been lucky enough for jobs to take me everywhere from Alaska to Beijing and a ton of places in between. I paint, prop, teach, design, and draw, though these days managing my shop and running our in-house crews takes most of my time. I’m so delighted to see GoSA grow, and can’t wait to see where it goes next. Hello Everyone! I started painting in undergrad and fell in love with it. Went to grad school at Brandeis where I was Bob’s TA, I moved back to the Twin Cities for a wile working as a Scenic and Designer. I started working in Higher Ed full time about 6 years ago and love teaching. I am so excited about this site. Since I am not working full time as a scenic anymore I know this will be a great place to ask questions and build community! – Andrea Heilman
Hello All! My name is Jamie Clausius and I am the Resident Scenic Artist and backdrop designer for Tobins Lake Studios. I’ve been with Tobins Lake almost 3 years now, overall I’ve been painting for the last 8 years, not counting my 2 years at Cobalt Studios in their Scenic Artist Training Program. Some of my theatre work includes couple of children’s theatres such as Lexington Children’s Theatre and Madison Children’s Theatre as their charge artist. I’ve also had a chance to do some indoor mural painting.
I’ve loved getting into murals and also having a chance to get back into backdrop painting, as I am the only painter at my job I am looking forward to meeting more scenic artists out in the world!
-Jamie Clausius
Hello from Lancaster, PA My name is Evan Rapp and I’m a scenic artist for ATOMIC Design out of Lititz, PA. My story is probably a bit different than some others here. I was trained academically in painting growing up and went the fine art route for college. I had the chance to study in Florence and was amazed by the Renaissance master works in Europe. Originally, I wanted to be an art restorer but the birth of my son changed my direction. I was given the opportunity to train at ATOMIC under a few painters. I’ve been there for three years now and it has been quite interesting. I got to take the summer scenic painting course at Cobalt Studios and look forward to going back. So, that is my training.
We do a lot of larger shows for the live entertainment industry. I get to do a lot of woodgraining, concrete, marble, rusty steel and other textures. It’s mostly on the larger scale and has to be done yesterday so I never really get to get too terribly technical with it. But it’s fun nonetheless.
I’m looking forward to contributing where I can and hopefully learning from those of you with more formal training.
Cheers,
Evan
Hi Team! My name is Liz and I am the scenic charge at Daedalus Design & Production located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I’ve lived in various neighborhoods in NYC since I was 14 and absolutely love working and living in this fast pace environment.I went to a performing art high school where I discovered painting was way more my thing than music. I graduated from Boston University with a BFA and have been working professionally in New York ever since.
I’m a giant foodie, love me some Buffy on a rainy day, and believe that crossfit has upped my painting game.
Can’t wait to get to know more of the scenic artist community!
Hey, guys! I’ll piggyback on Liz’s post — I’m David, her assistant charge at Daedalus!
I received a BFA from Emerson College in 2012, and moved to New York for Juilliard’s scenic art internship. I joined the Daedalus team in late 2015; some other favorite places to paint have been the Public Theater and Goodspeed Musicals.
In the shop, I love faux marble, landscapes, and Van Dyke Brown. Away from work, I love chocolate chip cookies and children’s literature.
Pleased to “meet” you all!
David
I’m Dave, from NYC. I’m actually not a scenic artist yet, but looking to get into it. I was trained as a fine artist and for the last 10 years have been doing that full time. Now looking to branch out into scenic artist work – if possible! It seems like a tough business to break into.
Thanks for letting me loiter and learn.
Hellooo All! I’m very excited about the guild! I am finishing my second year as the Facilities Manager and Shop Supervisor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the de facto Charge Artist. My MFA is in Costume and Scenic Design from the University of Iowa and that’s where I started my work as a Scenic Artist, not including the years prior of painting in studio art settings or here and there as needed in the various paint shops.
I love scenic painting far more than sewing (but definitely prefer rendering costumes to drafting sets) and will be teaching our first ever Scenic Painting class this upcoming fall! Our program is small but growing; this past year was the first year that we had real scenic paint and more than chip brushes which was HIGH on my list of priorities when I first arrived. I am SO THANKFUL for y’all that have gotten this started; It’s already a great resource for me and my students!
Hello, all! My name is Bridgette and I just wrapped up my first year teaching Scenic Design at a small liberal arts college in Indiana, which means I get to prop and paint as much as my little heart desires. I’m teaching a Scenic Art course this Fall, so I’m currently enjoying the process of picking and choosing which techniques we’ll be covering in class. Let me know if you have any favorite projects you’ve taught in the past!
I’m Sandy S. I started painting back in the 1970’s when we still used dry pigment and boiled up dry animal glue for a binder. Started mostly with scenic drops and floorcloth work then moved to a position as Scenic Artist at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre after a short summer gig at the Guthrie painting with Desmond Heeley. I had my own production company and did faux painting/ specialty work for a decade or more and eventually got into academia. I’ve been painting off and on until about a year ago when I pretty much turned everything over to younger folks with better hands and knees. I’ve been the Head of Production at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and leading the properties production and design curriculum for the past twenty-seven years. I’m retiring in a week…
😆 . but have a few tricks to share so will contribute as seems fitting.My name is Gwen and I am the TD/Production Manager at Marygrove College. I am also the charge artist at Meadowbrook Theatre in Rochester MI. I’ve been painting and teaching painting master classes for a while now, and find it endlessly enjoyable. Even if there are days that it seems that much of my job is to “paint wood to look like different wood”. I’m Jon and I live near Salt Lake City. I worked as a scenic many years ago and love that part of my past. I’ve been teaching tech theatre for the last 11 years after a nearly 20 year stint as a sound designer in the video game business (where I started out doing graphics). I get to do a little painting with my students from time to time. I also dabble in decorative painting and enjoy trying to perfect my faux bois and faux marbre techniques. When I retire, I may look into doing some summer theatre work.
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