Scenic Art Students Transform Panto Cloths with Rosco Supersat Paints

DAP Studio was established in 2004 by Scenic Artist James Rowse. Since 2009, James has offered courses in scenic art and scenic painting – both in person and online – from the studio in Gloucester, England. These courses have proven to be a successful route for arts graduates who want to gain enough skills and knowledge to establish careers as painters in Film/TV and Theatre. There are eleven one-week courses offered on a rolling program that runs throughout the year, each focusing on a separate area of the scenic craft. Below, James shares his experience during a recent course where his students used Rosco Supersat Scenic Paints to update and enhance a series of pantomime cloths.

Two students paint a panto cloth with Supersat paints (L). The final result (R). 

The Pantomime Course allowed students the opportunity to work directly with a theatre designer – Alexander McPherson. Alex designed several pantomime cloths for the course, which were then painted by the students using Supersat paint. He likes the students to be inventive and playful with his designs and encourages the students to embellish and develop his ideas.

A student adds details to Alex’s painted cloth, including the mice who have turned the gutter
into a water slide.

During our cloth painting courses, we make great use of both Rosco paint and brushes at the studio in Wickwar, Gloucestershire. When diluted, the translucent properties of the paint work perfectly for the students to add elements to Alex’s original painting. They allow you to build layers of rich colour while keeping the paint layer thin to avoid creasing the cloth.

Students layering color onto their pantomime cloths.

The students use the side of the cloth to test out colours before painting onto the main parts of the piece. Sometimes those side pieces are really beautiful, without the students trying or even thinking about it. It also shows how stunning the Supersat colors are, creating something appealing among the
“discarded brush marks.”

Examples of paint tests on the sides of the pantomime cloths.

In over thirty years of painting scenery and almost fifteen years of teaching scenic art and scenic painting, there have been many changes but also a few constants. I’ve always used Rosco Supersat paint in preference to other paints on the market. The bright pure colours that make up the supersaturated palette best suit the way I paint, and the way I teach.

Scenic Artist James Rowse has painted numerous set designs for West End, television, and touring theatrical productions at DAP Studio, including the English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and ITV. To learn more about the studio, visit: www.dapstudio.co.uk, and to learn more about their scenic painting courses visit: www.scenicpainters.com. If you would like to learn more about the paint featured in this article, visit the Supersat Product Page on the Rosco website.