Cobalt Studios Rewind

Earlier this month, USITT’s 2025 Cobalt Studio Scholarship recipients, Andrea Imsland and Aliyah Nora, spent a week surrounded by creativity, collaboration, and hands-on learning at Cobalt Studios in White Lake, New York. During the Foliage Painting I: Photo-Real Foliage Painting Techniques seminar, they explored new tools, immersed themselves in nature, and deepened their artistry.

We caught up with Andrea and Aliyah to hear about their experiences, insights, and what they’re taking with them from this unforgettable experience.

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Was there a moment during the seminar that really stuck with you or shifted your perspective as an artist?

Andrea: A moment during the seminar that did shift my perspective as an artist was taking so much time looking into the depth of photographs and being able to portray that in a 2-D piece and do it effectively.

Aliyah: Something that will really stay with me for a long time after being at this seminar, is that I really, really need to hold more trust in my artistic eye and abilities. I started the week out incredibly nervous to be around other experienced and fast scenic artists, when I had so little experience in comparison. I was spilling paint, tripping over my words, and second guessing any stroke I laid down on my project. It wasn't until day two where I was elbow-to-elbow with [instructor] Rachel Keebler while at the sink washing brushes where I uttered to her, "Thank you for being so patient with me. A lot of this is new to me, I know I'm a slow painter-". In which she promptly cut me off in the most direct and kindest manner, "Well don't say that. If you go about thinking that you'll be a slow painter, you will be. It's kind of like saying if you're bad at math, you will be bad at math." From then on out, my hands felt sturdier, my eyes keener, and my demeanor more determined. Thank you, Rachel, for your wise words.

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How did the seminar challenge or expand your existing skills?

Andrea: The seminar very greatly expanded my skills. Every project we did was focused on a new tool or technique that I had never used before.

Aliyah: Personally, I had never had the opportunity to paint anything as large and as intricate as a foliage drop before, as most of my scenic painting muscles have been used on the typical wood graining and stone textures, which provides less precision and more speed. It had been a long time since I've had to pick apart a reference image like the ones provided for our seminar projects, and honestly, that scenic painting muscle felt atrophied. But as the week went on, I started to understand the nuances of finding pockets of shadow, where tree lines sat, and where to emphasize the most important parts of a composition.

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What was it like to immerse yourself in the creative environment at Cobalt Studios? How did the setting influence your work or mindset?

Andrea: It was absolutely wonderful to immerse myself in the creative environment that they have cultivated there. I was able to connect with so many artists with different backgrounds and hear some really interesting perspectives and projects that they have worked on. Living in the house with the rest of the students and having meals together was so great for community building. Being in the woods and seeing all of the trees from outside the windows of the studio while we were working was so beautiful and timely for our foliage seminar. All of those aspects put me into what I would consider the best mindset for me to really be invested in my work and my learning.

Aliyah: The creative environment at Cobalt Studios was incredibly refreshing to be around. As an undergraduate, I often feel overwhelmed with twenty different thoughts and projects in a day that are all completely unrelated to scenic artistry. However, being at Cobalt gave my brain a much needed restart, as my only job was to focus on problem solving the project right in front of me from 9am until 5pm. And when I wasn't staring at my piece, there were so many opportunities to unwind with the current students at Cobalt via communal lunches, dinners, movie nights, and the occasional outing. Everyone felt so vastly different from one another, and yet we all seemed to meld together and get along, it was really something special. 

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What will you take with you from this experience into your future work?

Andrea: I have many new technical skills to take into my future work, but I also have a great new mindset from all of the tips and tricks Rachel told me or that I learned from watching the other students at work to bring with me wherever I go next.

Aliyah: Cobalt gave me a plethora of resources and knowledge in just a week that I can take with me anywhere. From information about sprayers, how to hold a brush, color mixing, composition, and learning when to put down the brush, I feel as if I was given the best painting crash course of my life. The book titles alone that I wrote down for future reference will give me years of knowledge to pick through.

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The Cobalt Studios Scholarship is kindly sponsored by Rose Brand. You can learn more about Cobalt Studios by clicking here.