When I was in undergrad the school I attended offered a course that had a series of Visiting Artists.  They would lecture in the course and then provide an optional workshop of some sort.  Rachael Keebler, the founder of Cobalt Studios, was one of these visiting artists during my second year.  Ever since then I have admired her work very much, and hope to someday spend more time studying under her at Colbalt Studios.

Cobalt Studios offers a variety of tracks of study, from a two year program designed to completely train a scenic artist to shorter seminars designed to help teachers or professionals improve upon current skill levels.  All courses are taught by true masters in the field of scenic painting.  The studio has received a variety of recognition and is featured in the most updated version of the book Scenic Art for the Theatre by Susan Crabtree.

For the non-academic person who is passionate about scenic painting, this is a great alternative to college.  The professional world has a lot of respect for this program, and the skills shown by people who have completed the program do not need a college degree to back them.  For someone who loves scenic painting, and wants to improve upon existing skills, I learned more in the few hours worth of workship with Ms. Keebler than I did in the entirety of my graduate level scenic painting class.  

The down side is the pricing.  Someday I hope to spend some time studying there, but unlike some of my buddies I have yet to have the spare cash available.  (I'm still paying off loans from four years of undergrad and three years of grad school.)  The three week summer session runs a little over $1,000 and other short term programs tend to run around $150 a day, with at least three days required.  Then, there are brushes to buy too if you don't own them already.  Their short term seminars also have a tendancy to fill quickly, so signing up early is a must.  For the quality of education received, it is still a bargain and those who have been around the industry for a while know that.

For those not interested in the education, still check out the site, but click on the "commission" button.  There are some really fantastic examples of some really inspirational scenic art.

2. 29. Jan, 2007

Gaining Exp

How does one gain the experience needed to get jobs, when you have to have expereince to get hired but without being hired you can't get any experience???

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