After banging on about fitness in the last few posts, I thought I’d celebrate the schizoid nature of this blog by returning to one about creativity. I recently helped paint some sets for Maitland Repertory Theatre’s annual melodrama ‘Pure as the Driven Snow’. Snow tells the story of a mysterious young woman, who stumbles into a country inn one dark night, and the ensuing mayhem as various heroes and malevolents attempt to help or hinder her.
The set features some faux flock wallpaper, which strobed between being quite convincing and out-and-out jarringly false, largely depending on the light and one’s frame of mind. This was created with a handmade stencil and gloss spray paint over a matt green wall. We actually tried to use a clear laquer spray with the stencil, and although it made a slightly darker pattern on the matt wall (kind of like a stain or a shadow) it wasn’t punchy enough to withstand stage lighting. Good idea though, and may work well in a domestic space, if you fancy transforming your abode into something distinctly Victorian.
The bottom section of the wall, under the dado rail, is an odd mix of bagging and dragging and woodgraining gone wrong. Thanks to good old Floetrol (an acrylic paint additive that makes water based paints behave like oils) it didn’t actually look too bad….
The grey marbled fireplace was recycled from an earlier Repertory production of ‘The Guardsman’.
As was the rather slinky chaise…
Helen Hopcroft: an artist's life 