Summer Scene Painting (SSP)
Develop your skills and gain significant confidence through this popular three-week intensive scene-painting course. Team-taught by Rachel Keebler & Kimb Williamson, you get hands on experience and insider tips to the trade of scene painting. This is a great course for those evaluating Scenic Painting as a career. For instructors of scenic painting, check our Teacher's Training for Scenic Painters program. It might be more specifically what you're looking for.
It is important to note that while this course teaches you to the fundamentals of scenic art and is a great opportunity to explore the craft, and develop your skills, it is not sufficient time to master the techniques needed to become a professional scenic painter. For someone who is seriously considering scenic art as a career, see Scenic Artist Training Program for the career track program.

SSP 2012 – Particulars

TWO SESSIONS!

JUNE 11TH THROUGH JUNE 29TH, 2012

JULY 23TH THROUGH AUGUST 10TH, 2012

Instructors: Rachel Keebler & Kimb Williamson
Application Fee: $150*
*This application fee is non-refundable and is NOT included in the tuition for this program.
Tuition: $1,400 (includes tools and materials)
Room & Board: $700
Brush Kit: (optional) $175.00 + tax ($189.00) See details below
Visa, Discover Card & Mastercard Accepted
Enrollment Max: 11
Deadline: Extremely popular, never too early to apply! Now accepting applications for 2011
Call today for an application! 845-583-7025 (or download it... see below)

SSP - Curricula
Coursework is minimally 71/2 hours a day, shooting for the hours between 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Mondays thru Fridays. No classwork on weekends.

SSP Week 1
The opening week we discuss the hierarchy of the paint shop and the skills and disposition we believe a successful, wonderful scenic artist must have. "What is paint?" and "Fabrics We Use" follow the opening session. Then we get you up on your feet for the "Bamboo Ballet", learning the technique of painting scenery laid out on the floor using bamboo brush extensions. This section will include drawing tricks for drawing geometric shapes and large-scale drawings. We use all these skills to execute a team project; drawing an over-scaled picture.
We further explore covering flats, color theory, and color mixing. In the "Tools and Techniques" class you will use a myriad of paint applicators commonly used in theatrical painting followed by developing your expertise in lining. You then develop basic forms into 3-D on a 2-D surface using glazes.

SSP Week 2
The second week will fly by with a section on perspective for scenic artists, woodgrain and marble for theatre, and a review of theatrical brick and stone. We enhance the techniques by adding trompe l'oeil mouldings on our wood and marble samples. A drapery project and a presentation of stenciling fill out the week.

SSP Week 3
In the final week we paint a foliage project and address skies and clouds. Additionally, there are two main projects in this final week; the first is a problem solving project called "You want me to paint WHAT on THAT?!" The second is an individual 6' x 10' translucent mini-drop, which come to life when we look at them under stage lighting. A nice finish to three productive and rewarding weeks with fellow theatre friends

SSP Admission Requirements & Accreditation
Admission is open.
Sullivan County Community College (part of SUNY) offers the two-week course for three credits at $90.00 per credit. Let us know if you wish to participate in this accreditation.

SSP Application
Call (845) 583-7025 or send an e-mail with mailing address to mail@cobaltstudios.net for an application.
You may also download an application HERE. Plan ahead as sessions usually fill up by quickly! 
If the session is filled you have three options
-Get your deposit back.
-Get put on the waiting list and/or.
-Roll your application fee over to the next year to be first on the list.

SSP Registration
Submit application and application fee.

Arrival and Departure
Plan to arrive on Sunday afternoon or evening, Stay til Sunday and take advantage of some of the fine things to do in the area! See directions and travel information under "Location and Travel"

SSP Locale
Located in White Lake, New York between the Catskill Mountains and the Pocono Mountains, Cobalt Studios is situated on 28 acres of fields and woods. The farmhouse easily accommodates up to 12 people. Students and faculty both stay on the grounds. Kitchen and laundry facilities are large enough for all. The painting studio is a short walk from the house on a woodland path. Built specifically as a painting space the deck is a spacious 40' x 135' with good lighting. Other studio facilities include a library, a large paint mixing room, stockrooms and an office. Smoking is permitted outdoors only.
Cooking is an event when we have a house-full. For dinner everyone shares in a rotation schedule of preparation and cleanup for dinner, so some nights you just show up! If you think you can't cook – relax, we're flexible! It's a wonderful and relaxed way to get to know everybody. Breakfast and lunch are "fix your own" and "clean your own".
The nearest towns, Monticello and Liberty, are both about 15 minutes away. The surrounding area is a summer vacationland with plenty of lakes for fishing and boating. Swimming in the lakes may be a bit cool but it is also available.
We are located just 4 miles from "Bethel Woods Center for the Arts", an state of the art concert venue. This is on the site of the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival.  On the grounds there is a museum dedicated to the 1960’s. Good for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon visit! Click on "RESOURCES" on our website to link to more information about the Concerts and the Museum..

What to Bring to SSP
For starters...favorite recipes for dinner or desert ;-)
your favorite Pillow
(We provide blankets, also sheets and towels)
Sleeping bag (if you want to sleep under the stars)
Alarm Clock
Clothing
Paint clothes
Casual for evening
Clothes for special trips to NYC or any of the rest of the civilized world
Some warm clothes, as cool weather can show up at any time in the summer
Rain gear
For Class
Pictures of your work
Any personal brushes you wish to bring
(please mark all tools clearly)
It's always a great idea to bring a camera
Use of Cobalt brushes, tools and all paint & fabric is included in the price of the seminar.
Cobalt Studios offers students an opportunity to purchase a Scenic Artist Brush kit at current market prices (About $ 189.00). Brushes are tested by practical application here at Cobalt and are ordered from several different manufacturers. The kit consists of eight brushes: one each of a 4" Bristle lay-in brush, a 3", 2", 1.5" and .75" scenic Fitch, a 1.75"Husky and both a 1" & a 1.5" angled Purdy.