Painting Convertible Scenery – Spattering Scenery

Excerpt from “Scenery, a Manual of Scene Design” by Harold Helvenston (1931, page 58)

“In painting flats or units that are to be used in different scenes, under different colored lights, it is the common custom to paint a ground tone of neutral or almost neutral gray, either warm or cold in hue, and upon this spatter three or four or any number of different colors according to a definitely preconceived color scheme.  The spattering colors may be primary colors of light or pigment, secondary colors of either, or any other chromatic system pleasing or displeasing to the artist.  The value of these colors should be the same if there is not to be a predominance of any one color.  This however, is arbitrary.  

This technique results in a very flexible surface for lighting, and when properly combined with different hues and intensities of light it is capable of creating many imaginative and pleasing effects.  If any one light hue is used alone on scenery it has a tendency to bring out that particular hue in the setting.  If two colored lights are combined, the result will reflect its corresponding combination in pigment.  Thus a red light upon a scene that has been spattered with red will produce a red glow to the audience; a combination of red and blue will bring out the red and blue qualities of the setting or their chromatic result, which is magenta.”

Below are two scenes from the Scenery Collection Database at the University of Minnesota. Here is the link to go exploring.  I search “Interiors.”

https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-6-32-49-am

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-6-32-52-am

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-6-32-19-am

screen-shot-2016-11-28-at-6-32-24-am

And here is an example of spatter on full-scale scenery for the Quincy, Illinois Scottish Rite Theatre (Secret Vault scene).

qsrt-line-69-secret-vault-modern-10

qsrt-line-69-secret-vault-modern-9

qsrt-line-69-secret-vault-modern-3

 

Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *