Scenic Painters

In this five day course students will learn a variety of wood finishes from fine polished woodgrains to rough and ready exterior effects. They will have two days at the the end of the week to produce a final piece of work based on the skills they have learned.

The stone week teaches students a number of polished stone and rough stone finishes, and then allows two days at the end of the course for students to produce their own piece of work. We will learn a couple of different marbles, granite, flagstones, slate, concrete and more.

Students will learn to create textured brickwork using stencils and tape. They'll paint Vacuum formed moulding brick panels to look like London stocks and a mossy red brick wall, damp and broken down. We'll also paint a large scale wall advert or ghost sign.

A five day course where students will learn eight or more metal finishes and then apply the skills learned to a portfolio piece. We'll be painting rusty iron and steel, galvanised metal, different types of Verdigris, painted gold and metal leaf.

The glass and ceramic week will give students the chance to create mosaics and ceramic tiles We'll make an etched glass sign and stained glass window, with leaded tape and translucent coloured varnishes.

In this five day course students will work together to mark out a large section of a pantomime cloth using mechanical ways of transferring elements of the drawing. Techniques will include the use of projectors, pounces, mousetrap screens, stencils and carbon paper. We will also look at perspective and explore the basic rules behind solving perspectival problems. Each student will create their own perspectival scenic scale drawing.

In this five day course we will be joined by designer Alexander McPherson who will outline the process of rendering 3D objects on a 2D surface. Trompe L'eoil means "deceives the eye" and is in fact the basis of much traditional scenic artwork. Alex will join us by zoom each day to show students how to create realsaitic carvings, mouldings and other Trompe L'eoil effects.

During this five day course students develop a knowledge of how a spray gun works and how scenic painters and scenic artists can make use of it. You will start with basic exercises, learn how to use masking, and finish with painting a small backdrop.

This six day course allows students to work from designs by theatre designer Alexander McPherson. Alexander has designed theatre and opera productions across the UK and Europe and was head of design at Bristol Old VicTheatre.

The six day old master cloth course is great for building your portfolio. Students will work from an old master painting, taking a section scale up using a grid, and will paint the cloth using an underpainting technique. Many paintings from the Renaissance through until the mid 19th century suit this technique