Teachers’ Training for Scenic Painting

July 7 – 11, 2025 (FIVE DAYS)

Instructors

Taught by Jenny Knott and Gwen Cox

This session is created for the teacher at either the high school or college level to give them confidence, tools and resources to take on scenic painting projects while passing on their new-found skills and knowledge to their students.

After defining what the instructional needs of each participant are, this course also can aid teachers in creating a basic scenic painting class based on their goals for their individual school’s needs.  We will be learning the foundations and in many cases discussing how modern technology can be utilized to save time and money.

Daily workshop activities are divided into training components in which Cobalt Instructors will demonstrate the technique, guide participants through executing it, explain why sequences are constructed the way they are and discuss the parameters of project choices and assignments. This will help to prepare you for teaching these lessons in your own educational environment.

  • Topics covered include
    • Basics of painting from the tip of the brush to the bottom of the bucket!
    • Standard Faux techniques for wood, brick, marble, and stone.
    • Creating depth with light and shadow.
    • Additional tips on creating texture and stencil techniques.
    • Discussions on how to assess skill with a new paint crew
    • Discussions on how to deal with the non-major in the theatre world.
    • Discussions on collaborations between Scenic Design, Lighting design and painting.

Course instruction is a minimum of 7 hours daily in class. Evenings are unscheduled, but you can anticipate lively discussions over dinner, spending time sitting on the front porch, browsing through the books, working in the studio, exploring the local area, or taking a trip to NYC!

General Information

The application fee covers application processing and other administrative costs while assuring us of your commitment to attending the seminar. Tuition covers that student’s share of instructor fees, class supplies, utilities, overhead and insurance.

Room and Board includes a furnished room (bedding provided), and all meals at the house, excluding mutually agreed upon meals eaten “out.”

Costs

Tuition + Room & Board are due at registration on the first day of class.

Application Fee: $150.00

Tuition: $900.00 (includes tools and materials)

Room & Board: $300.00

Optional Brush Kit: (Market Value) $230.00 + tax ($248.40)

Brush kit includes 8 brushes: one each of a 4″ bristle lay in brush, a 3″ 2″ 1.5″ and .75″ Scenic Fitch, a 1.75″ Husky and a 1″ and 1.5″ angled Purdy.

Use of Cobalt brushes, tools, and all paint & fabric is included in the price of the seminar.

 APPLICATION

There are three easy ways to get an application:

Return completed application and fee to:

Cobalt Studios, Inc.
TTSP Application
PO Box 79
White Lake, NY 12786

Admission Information

Admission is open and is a rolling admissions process with a maximum number of 8 students per session.

Cobalt Studios maintains a racially and sexually non-discriminating policy and a willingness to accommodate accessibility needs within the realistic physical expectations of our industry.

Arrival and Departure

Plan to arrive the Sunday afternoon or evening before the class begins.

Stay till Sunday and take advantage of some of the fine things to do in the area.

Your Cobalt Experience

Located in White Lake, New York, two hours northwest of NYC, Cobalt Studios is situated on 28 acres of fields and woods. The farmhouse easily accommodates up to 10 people. Students and faculty both stay on the grounds. Kitchen and laundry facilities are large enough for all and every bedroom is furnished with a bed, dresser, desk, and chair. Pillows & bedding are provided, but feel free to bring your own if you prefer.

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, a state-of-the-art concert venue. This is the site of the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival. On the grounds there is a museum dedicated to the 1960s. Good for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon visit!

What to Bring

  • For starters…favorite recipes for dinner or dessert
  • Pictures of your work for show and tell (Digital and Physical Portfolios are welcome)
  • Your Class Syllabus
  • Any personal brushes you wish to bring (please mark all tools clearly)
  • Paint clothes
  • Casual clothes for around the house
  • Clothes for special trips to NYC or any of the rest of the civilized world
  • Rain gear
  • Sleeping bag (if you want to sleep under the stars)

The use of Cobalt brushes, tools and all paint and fabric is included in the price of the seminar.