Beginner’s guide to scenic painting

Painting for Performance–A Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Scenery.

In Painting for Performance–A Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Scenery, Sean O’Skea has provided the academy with an accessible, knowledgeable, and well-written introduction to scene painting. The tone is conversational, almost as if the reader is in one of Professor O’Skea’s scene painting classes at Oregon State University, which makes for an easy and enjoyable read. In fact, I bought this book as a gift for a young scenic artist a year before I was asked to write this review because it struck me as the perfect starting point.

The book covers the basics but is thorough in addressing all aspects of scenic art on a beginning (approaching intermediate) level, which makes it ideal for undergraduate students and teachers, as well as those on the high school level who want to up their game. For readers who are interested in more particular and professional treatments of the subject, O’Skea points to other publications such as Scenic Art for the Theatre: History, Tools, and Techniques by Susan Crabtree and Peter Beudert, Monona Rossol’s books on safety in the theatre, and the defunct periodical (now fortunately archived by Anthony Phelps) The Painter’s Journal.

O’Skea explains the fundamentals of scenic painting clearly and succinctly, but with detail where detail is needed. Specifically, he offers sound advice regarding the pros and cons of different types of paint, a tiered approach for acquiring essential tools of the trade, best practices for how to maintain that investment, various ways to think about color theory and color mixing, and the implementation of common and uncommon painting techniques and materials. Additionally, he devotes entire chapters to faux finishes, transfer techniques, trompe l’oeil, and three-dimensional materials and methods, affording greater depth and breadth on those topics. The final chapter is a solid discussion on issues of health and safety with an emphasis on good planning as a primary tool for avoiding danger. Throughout the book, O’Skea contextualizes the practices of the discipline by weaving in tidbits on the history of scenic art, calling attention to the technical advances that have been made in the industry over the years and pointing out the ways in which scene painting has creatively co-opted tools, materials, and techniques that were intended for other purposes.

The flaws are few in this text. A couple of production shots suffer from lack of light, perhaps as a conscious decision to preference the accuracy of the look of the production over a clear indication of the paint treatment. The one other quibble I have is with the printing quality of page 71, figure 4.1, in which the blue tones in an illustration of a red/ blue/ yellow color wheel are decidedly purple. This seems curious since the next page has a lovely illustration of a plethora of blues and their varied descriptive names. Other suggestions would be to add a good glossary and a list of theatrical paint resources and suppliers.

The website advertising this book provides a link to a series of short videos that will pique students’ interest in advance–great for class recruiting. These snippets and the excellent illustrations of painting techniques in the text made me wish for links to longer videos, either accompanying the purchase of the text or sold separately, so that one could see all the steps from beginning to end for the various techniques.

This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who teaches scene design and scene painting or is in the position of advising student scene designers and painters. As a textbook, it is a welcome and refreshing conversation geared toward the engaged novice who wants guidance and is willing to experiment. Students will find it inspiring and encouraging, a firm stepping stone to the next level.

Jan Chambers is a professor of dramatic art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and resident designer for PlayMakers Repertory Company and Archipelago Theatre/Cine. She currently serves as the associate commissioner for the USITT Scene Design and Technology Commission. Reach her at [email protected].

COPYRIGHT 2018 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.

Painting for Performance : A Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Scenery, Paper.

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Book Title
Painting for Performance : A Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Sc
ISBN
9781138951167
Publication Year
2016
Type
Textbook
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Publication Name
Painting for Performance : a Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Scenery
Item Height
0.5in.
Author
SEAN O’skea
Item Length
11in.
Publisher
Routledge
Item Width
8.7in.
Item Weight
26.5 Oz
Number of Pages
248 Pages

Painting for Performance removes the mystery from painting and gives beginners the terms, tools, and techniques to approach their unpainted set with confidence. Covering the mechanics of paint and its many implementations in set design, this book provides simple and effective step-by-step instructions for painting a variety of surfaces to look great on stage.

Publisher
Routledge
ISBN-10
1138951161
ISBN-13
9781138951167
eBay Product ID (ePID)
227768368
Author
SEAN O’skea
Publication Name
Painting for Performance : a Beginner’s Guide to Great Painted Scenery
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Publication Year
2016
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
248 Pages
Item Length
11in.
Item Height
0.5in.
Item Width
8.7in.
Item Weight
26.5 Oz
Lc Classification Number
Pn2091.S8o75 2016
Table of Content

Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 – Paints: Meet Your Medium Chapter 2 – The Hardware: The Essential Tools Chapter 3 – Unusual Tools: Stencils, Stamps, and Sprayers. Chapter 4 – How to Get the Color You Want: Basics of Color Theory and Mixing Paint Chapter 5 – How to Paint: Basic Techniques Chapter 6 – How to Make it Look Like Something Else: Recipes For Faux Finishes Chapter 7 – Make it Like This, Only Bigger: Pattern transfer techniques Chapter 8 – How to Make it Look 3D: The Basics of Trompe l’oeil Chapter 9 – How to Paint on Anything: Techniques for Painting on Paint-resistant Materials Chapter 10 – More Than Paint: A Gallery of 3D Materials and Techniques For Surfaces Chapter 11 – How to Stay Safe: Health and Safety Conclusion Index

Copyright Date
2017
Target Audience
College Audience
Topic
Theater / General, Theater / Direction & Production, Theater / Stagecraft & Scenography
Lccn
2016-015682
Illustrated
Genre
Performing Arts
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number: 362861514124
Last updated on Nov 02, 2023 13:06:44 PDT View all revisions View all revisions
Item location:
Jessup, Maryland, United States
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