Category: Painting Technique

“Finally, it must be borne in mind that scene painting is hard work, both physically and mentally, and when indulged in every day will yield all of the physical culture necessary to the promotion of good appetite and sound sleep.  The work is fascinating and full of interest to those filled at all times with enthusiasm and the desire to excel; if you are not so constituted, it would be better not to make the effort.  Scene painting will promote all of the latent talent you possess and reward you in exact proportion to the ability and talent developed.”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 201)

 

“A desert scene is not used very often in ordinary production, but nevertheless you should know how to make these settings if called upon to do so.  Often when a play requires a desert scene, the desert proper is painted on the backdrop and scene through cut and netted leg drop representing tropical vegetation…The sky in a tropical country is deeper blue in the North….The sky should be painted with no clouds, starting with ultramarine, then running through an Italian blue to a light emerald green into a light cream behind the lavender colored mountains that are seen in silhouette against the sky.”

Excerpt taken from “Theatrical Scene Painting: A Thorough and Complete Work of How to Sketch, Paint, and Install Theatrical Scenery” (Appleton Publishing Co., Omaha, Nebraska, 1916, 112-113)

Attached is an example from the Grand Forks Masonic Temple (Sosman and Landis Studio, 1914 installation)

From “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (Frank Atkinson, 1916, page 30):

“In the preparation of sky tints, it will be observed that they are graduated in intensity by a greater or less quality of tone…and in laying them in, we place the strongest of them at the highest part of the sky, making them paler or higher in value and less intense as we descend to the horizon, where the use of blue is discontinued and other tints are used, suitable to the character of composition and the mood of the day.”

The image below is from the Scottish Rite theatre in Winona, Minnesota (Sosman & Landis design for the 3rd degee – Seacoast near Joppa).  It is currently in a storage unit with the remainder of the scenery collection on the stage.

 

 

“The imitation of different fabrics depends chiefly upon the character of the folds and, in the next place, upon the appearance they present as rough or smooth, dull or brilliant.  This is evident by their easy representation by various means, such as simple crayons or the strokes of the graver.  Even their texture, as coarse or fine, is denoted in the same manner; so that the color has but little or no part in their indication.  This is as a general rule, of in case of satins, velvets, and some other stuffs of silk, we perceive that the configuration of the folds, though important, does not hold the principle place.  Thus satin, with its large, sufficiently remarkable folds, is distinguished still more by its singular brilliancy and the beauty of its reflection.”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson, “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 60)

Below are two Scottish Rite drop details depicting drapery. The first is from Fort Scott’s Treasure chamber and the second is Salina’s front curtain.

“…it has been said [George Fuchs] had much to do with the development of “relief theatre,” where the aim is to accentuate the decorative value of the moving figures, by the use of a very shallow stage and a very flat background. Further, George Fuchs was reported to have said, “ Let the stage painter, too, be content to stay in his own domain. He should not attempt to give the illusion of depth by depicting the three dimensions. He has enough to do if he confines himself to his proper problem of lines and planes.” In this University of Minnesota MA Thesis from 1951, James R Thompson (“Influences of Modern Painting on the “New Stagecraft”) uses a quote from “The New Stage Art” (1914, page 75).

“To make an acceptable scenic or bulletin artist, you must be able to draw, as well as paint, almost every conceivable object in Nature, as well as articles of manufacture, embracing a great many mechanical objects which must be represented with truthful fidelity as to detail and form.”Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 69)

Same song, second verse…I am always astounded at the various skill levels at Sosman & Landis.  Yesterday, I posted a detail from the Winona, Minnesota, Scottish Rite with the scales of justice. The proportions of the figure and the drapery are not well done at all.

Here is another example of the same composition from the Wichita Scottish Rite in Kansas.  A far superior artistic created this version of the small drop for the Vision Scene (17th Degree in the Scottish Rite).

“In making full-length drawing of a female figure in costume from nature, arrange the drapery to give a final impression of the contour of the figure.  Do not have the figure entirely hidden away by heavy folds of cloth.  A poor draftsman usually shows a female figure as a mass of drapery, with head and feet obtruding from it.  The thing is to make the gown appear as if it were really enveloping the human figure; to suggest the figure underneath by carefully drawing its every curve and line an arranging all the folds of the drapery to bring out this point.”

Excerpt from Frank Atkinson’s “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916, page 68.

Attached is a perfect example of the figure drawing by a “poor draftsman.”  This small drop is for the Vision Scene (17th degree) currently in storage at the Winona Masonic theatre.  Although the figure painters at Volland Studios (St. Louis) were far superior to those at other studios, this example is particularly bad for a Sosman & Landis scenic artist.  Over the years, I have recorded some of the worst figure-drawing examples in these small scenes. They typically fall behind the temple ruins in the Volcano drop and are fairly obscured by the surround and the dramatic lighting.  This is the scene where the thunder rumbles, the lightening flashes, and the volcano explodes – sending rivulets of lava down the mountain.  Pretty fun!

It does makes me wonder if these small drops were intended as a training ground.  However, maybe they just indicate busy times and unskilled labor.

It is important to understand human anatomy…and always take drawing classes.  Otherwise, the human skull may become a bowling ball.  For me, this makes the hell scene just a little less scary…

“Foliage, even in masses, should have a feeling of looseness, a quick, flirting touch with a pointed brush, varying the touch as the formation of the mass dictates.” From Scene Painting and Bulletin Art, Frank Atkinson, 1916, page 33.