Holly Cooper//scenic Painter & Art Department//film. tv. Theatre. fit out & props
Hi my name is Holly Cooper and I am from New Zealand. I have worked in Film/TV, Theatre, Music and the Commercial Art fields full time for the past 9 years. Primarily I work as a Scenic Artist painting props and sets but I also have experience On-Set and have worked as a Dresser (Armour and Weapons), Concept Artist & Art Director (album covers & photo shoots), Art tutor and my own art practice when I have the time!
I have done a huge variety of arts related jobs as the New Zealand arts landscape calls for a very multi-skilled approach due to the size of it's related industries. The main skill set I have developed in the film and theatre world is Scenic Painting and within this the skills of surfacing (wood, metal, plaster, matching), fabric treatment (dying, staining, colour matching), leather work (aging, breakdown, dying) and the general scenic art of faking it… using products and sneaky tricks to turn plastic into wood or foam into metal etc.
One of my major accomplishment was to be one of the main props painters on The Hobbit trilogy of films where I was often working independently figuring out the recipes for the Hero Props or leading teams working through processes. I worked on the pre production and production of these three films for close to two years.
I hold both current British and New Zealand Passports and have a clean Drivers License. I have traveled extensively including for work - recent highlights include four months of travel through South Korea, The Philippines and Borneo. At the end of 2012 my partner and I emigrated to the United Kingdom and are currently based in London.
I have done a huge variety of arts related jobs as the New Zealand arts landscape calls for a very multi-skilled approach due to the size of it's related industries. The main skill set I have developed in the film and theatre world is Scenic Painting and within this the skills of surfacing (wood, metal, plaster, matching), fabric treatment (dying, staining, colour matching), leather work (aging, breakdown, dying) and the general scenic art of faking it… using products and sneaky tricks to turn plastic into wood or foam into metal etc.
One of my major accomplishment was to be one of the main props painters on The Hobbit trilogy of films where I was often working independently figuring out the recipes for the Hero Props or leading teams working through processes. I worked on the pre production and production of these three films for close to two years.
I hold both current British and New Zealand Passports and have a clean Drivers License. I have traveled extensively including for work - recent highlights include four months of travel through South Korea, The Philippines and Borneo. At the end of 2012 my partner and I emigrated to the United Kingdom and are currently based in London.