Name: Tim Morrisson
Position: Charge Painter, Hawkeye Design Studios
Years: Two
As the in-charge painter for Hawkeye Design Studios, Tim Morrison is responsible for painting scenery and theatrical backdrops ranging from the sky chart and Italian countryside seen in the Goodman Theatre’s “Galileo, Galilei,” to the rustic setting of Drury Lane Theatre’s upcoming production of “On Golden Pond.” Behind the Scenes talked with Morrison about his craft during a visit to the northwest side studio, and managed not to get any paint on his clothes.
Q. What sort of projects do you work on?
A. It’s a wide range of stuff. This is a floor we’re doing for “On Golden Pond.” We’re doing the entire set for them. We do theater, we do exhibit work, we do industrials. We’ve done stuff that’s gone in to the Field Museum.
Q. How did you get into this field?
A. I started doing theater of some sort in junior high. I did it in college. After college, I spent four years working as a carpenter for regional theaters around the country. I went back to graduate school and got an MFA from Northwestern in design. I got my union card, and I do design on the side and paint to pay the bills. I’ve been the charge painter here for two years. Previously for 10 years I was freelance.
Q. How did you paint the backdrops for “Galileo, Galilei?”
A. For the Goodman drops, on the star chart, there was a lot of lettering. We blew that up on a projector onto brown paper. Then there’s a process called pounce, where you make little holes in the paper along your drawing. You take a little pounce pad, which is a pad filled with powder, you pat the pad on the paper it goes through [onto the canvas underneath], and that lettering is laid out neatly on the drop. Then you go back and paint it.
Q. How long does it take to paint a typical backdrop?
A. There is no typical drop. Six days is what I have available for this [“On Golden Pond”]. The Goodman drops took much longer. We had four painters on that at various points, and they were on the floor for two weeks. I think the biggest was 62 [feet] wide by 38 tall. That’s on the larger side for backdrops. I’ve actually worked one that was 50 wide by 30 tall.
Q. In addition to being able to copy the design you’re given, what skills do you need to do your job?
A. Matching color is critical, the ability to mix color and figure out how it’s going to interact. You have to know how to get stuff done quickly. There’s an awful lot of tricks we do. Someone who’s a fine artist may be able to paint it and make it look lovely, but they probably will not be able to do it as quickly as a scenic artist. You have to have a knowledge of what’s going to look good from the front row and what’s going to look good from the back row, how much detail you have to put in, how much you can get away with. You have to know period style of architectural history, how things are built, how a door’s put together.
Q. What do you like about your job?
A. I get a real satisfaction out of looking at something when it’s done and knowing I painted it. To be sitting in the audience during a show and thinking, that’s really pretty, and I painted that, that’s exciting. There’s a bit of a challenge to it, can I make it look as good as the elevation.
